Massachusetts Medicare Savings Program 2026: Income Limits, No Asset Test
Massachusetts’s limits are higher than the federal limits. MassHealth’s income table, effective March 1, 2026, lists QMB at or below 190% FPL, $2,527 a month for one person and $3,427 for a couple, and SLMB/QI above that up to 225% FPL, $2,993 and $4,058. The figures are rounded percentages of the poverty guideline with no $20 added, and MassHealth’s regulation takes $20 off your income first. Massachusetts has no asset test for these programs.
There is no resource test in Massachusetts for these programs, so resources do not count. The figures come from MassHealth, not from the federal tables, and the checker below applies them. Screener only. Your state Medicaid agency decides, using your full application and its own rules. It applies the 2026 standards to the numbers you enter, and a state can count income and resources differently.
Maintained by Archie Chang · Reviewed October 31, 2026 · Methodology & sources
Your situation
For a married couple, enter both spouses’ income added together. The $20 may not apply to income that is based on need, such as a VA pension, so ask your state if that is your income. Amounts go up to $100,000,000.
Resources do not count in Massachusetts, so there is nothing to enter for them.
Result for Massachusetts
How your income is counted, step by step
| Social Security, pensions and similar income | $1,500 |
| Minus the $20 general exclusion (unearned income first) | -$20 |
| Wages and self-employment earnings | $0 |
| Minus any unused part of the $20 | -$0 |
| Minus $65 of wages | -$0 |
| Minus one-half of the rest of the wages | -$0 |
| Countable income a month | $1,480 |
Income against each limit
| Program | Limit for countable income | Limit with the $20 added | Countable income compared with the limit | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QMB | $2,527 | $2,547 | $1,047 under | Likely eligible |
| SLMB/QI | $2,993 | $3,013 | $1,513 under | Under this limit too, but you would be placed in the program above first |
The “Countable income compared with the limit” column shows how far under or over each limit your countable income is. The second column adds $20 only so the limit can be compared with the federal tables, which have the $20 built in.
Resources
Resources do not count in Massachusetts, so no program here is over a resource limit.
Screener only. Your state Medicaid agency decides, using your full application and its own rules. It applies the 2026 standards to the numbers you enter, and a state can count income and resources differently.
What the Medicare Savings Programs pay in Massachusetts
“Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs), previously known as MassHealth Buy-In (MHBI).”
“These programs are run by MassHealth, but you do NOT need to be on MassHealth to apply.”
“MassHealth pays for the Medicare Part A premium if you have one (most people do not).”
“MassHealth also pays for the Medicare Part B premium and pays for some of the costs of things like copays, deductibles, and/or premiums.”
“Your medical provider can’t bill you for Medicare copays and deductibles. This includes Medicare Advantage Plan providers. But you can still be charged a pharmacy copay.”
“MassHealth pays for the Medicare Part B premium.”
“You’re enrolled in Medicare Part D Extra Help for help with the costs of prescription drugs.”
When coverage starts in Massachusetts
“Your coverage may begin in the month we process your application or as early as three months before that.”
That sentence is from MassHealth’s Medicare Savings Programs application booklet (March 2025 revision) and does not distinguish the programs; MassHealth’s page and FAQs give no separate start date for QMB or for SLMB/QI. Federal law ties QMB to the month after the month of the eligibility determination; ask MassHealth when your coverage will start.
These are the state’s rules as of October 31, 2026; federal law shortens the Medicaid look-back for applications made on or after January 1, 2027 (see the hub).
Massachusetts Medicare Savings Program income limits, 2026
MassHealth sets its limits as percentages of the federal poverty level, 190% for QMB and 225% for SLMB/QI, and its table of dollar amounts is effective March 1, 2026. The first two columns are the dollar amounts as that table prints them; the last two add $20 only so they can be compared with the federal tables. Massachusetts’s limits are higher than the federal limits.
| Program | One person | Couple | One person, with the $20 | Couple, with the $20 | At the limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) | $2,527 | $3,427 | $2,547 | $3,447 | The state’s wording differs: ask |
| Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary and Qualifying Individual (SLMB/QI), combined by MassHealth into one level | $2,993 | $4,058 | $3,013 | $4,078 | The state’s wording differs: ask |
- MassHealth’s dollar amounts are rounded percentages of the poverty guideline, which is $1,330 a month for one person: 190% and 225% of that. They are not the federal published figures, and they do not have the $20 added. MassHealth’s regulation then takes $20 off gross income before the comparison, which is how the checker works. The table’s wording differs (“below or equal to” in the table, “under the income limits” in the FAQ) and the table is rounded, so income exactly at a limit is shown as at the limit.
- MassHealth combines SLMB and QI into one level, SLMB/QI, so the table and the checker show one row for it. MassHealth’s page says the Medicare Savings Programs were previously known as MassHealth Buy-In (MHBI).
- Full MassHealth coverage has asset limits of $2,000 for a single applicant and $3,000 for a couple, but the Medicare Savings Programs have none. MassHealth’s regulation also lets it subtract other items from income (130 CMR 520.012 and 520.013 list them); the checker handles only the $20, the $65 and one-half of wages, so ask MassHealth if other deductions may apply to you.
What Massachusetts prints
“2026 MassHealth Income Standards and Federal Poverty Guidelines, Effective March 1, 2026”
“If your income is at or below 225% of the Federal Poverty Level, you may qualify for an MSP.”
“Below or equal to 190% FPL: QMB Above 190% FPL and less than or equal to 225% FPL: SLMB/QI”
“To get an MSP, you must have countable income under the income limits in the table.”
“Income limits change each year on March 1.”
“These figures are rounded and may not reflect the figures used in program determination.”
Sources: MassHealth: Get help paying Medicare costs; MassHealth: Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs) FAQs (MSP-FAQ_2026-03); MassHealth: 2026 MassHealth Income Standards and Federal Poverty Guidelines, effective March 1, 2026; MassHealth: Medicare Savings Programs application booklet (form MHBI-0325); 130 CMR 520.000: MassHealth, Financial Eligibility (520.011 to 520.013).
Massachusetts has no resource test
Massachusetts has no resource (asset) test for the Medicare Savings Programs, so bank accounts, stocks and other resources do not affect them. MassHealth’s FAQ says so:
“There’s no asset test for any MSP benefit.”
How Massachusetts counts income
“Standard earned-income deductions are applied in the following order: (A) $20, if there is no unearned income or, if there is unearned income that is less than $20, the balance of the $20 is disregarded from earned income; (B) the next $65 a month of earned income; and (C) one-half of the remaining earned income.”
“(A) a deduction of $20 per individual or married couple; or”
The checker follows these steps: $20 off unearned income first, any unused part of the $20 off wages, then $65 off wages, then one-half of the rest of the wages. The same federal rules and the federal limits are on the Medicare Savings Program hub and the Extra Help income limits page.
Where to apply in Massachusetts
Apply through MassHealth. MassHealth’s “Get help paying Medicare costs” page, which has the application to download and the online application: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/get-help-paying-medicare-costs. Phone: (800) 841-2900 (MassHealth Customer Service).
“Get help filling out your application from a MassHealth Customer Service Representative, available Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM at (800) 841-2900, TDD/TTY: 711.”
Your state Medicaid agency decides which program you qualify for, and Medicare.gov says to apply even if you do not think you qualify. See Medicare.gov’s Medicare Savings Programs page.
The 2027 limits
The 2027 limits are not yet published as of October 31, 2026. Medicare.gov and the SSA Program Operations Manual still list the 2026 limits as the current ones, and this page shows no 2027 limit and makes no estimate.
For the federal limits, resource figures and the meaning of the $20, see the Medicare Savings Program hub; for Extra Help, which comes with these programs, see Extra Help income limits. Full Medicaid is on the Medicaid income limits page.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Medicare Savings Program income limits in Massachusetts for 2026?
Massachusetts’s limits are higher than the federal limits. MassHealth’s income table, effective March 1, 2026, lists QMB at or below 190% FPL, $2,527 a month for one person and $3,427 for a couple, and SLMB/QI above that up to 225% FPL, $2,993 and $4,058. The figures are rounded percentages of the poverty guideline with no $20 added, and MassHealth’s regulation takes $20 off your income first. Massachusetts has no asset test for these programs.
Is Massachusetts’s limit higher than the federal Medicare Savings Program limit?
Yes. The federal published QMB limit is $1,350 for one person and MassHealth’s is $2,527; the federal published QI limit is $1,816 and MassHealth’s SLMB/QI limit is $2,993. MassHealth combines SLMB and QI into one level.
Does Massachusetts have an asset test for the Medicare Savings Programs?
No. MassHealth’s FAQ says there’s no asset test for any MSP benefit, so bank accounts and other resources do not affect these programs. Full MassHealth coverage does have asset limits of $2,000 for a single applicant and $3,000 for a couple.
How do I apply for the Medicare Savings Programs in Massachusetts?
Fill out MassHealth’s Medicare Savings Programs application and mail it, or fill it in and submit it online, from https://www.mass.gov/info-details/get-help-paying-medicare-costs. MassHealth Customer Service is (800) 841-2900, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and a SHINE counselor can also help you apply. You do not need to be on MassHealth to apply.
How does Massachusetts count my income?
MassHealth’s regulation takes $20 off unearned income, or off wages if there is no unearned income or less than $20 of it, then the next $65 a month of earned income, and then one-half of the remaining earned income. A couple gets one set of these deductions. The regulation lists other deductions in 130 CMR 520.012 and 520.013.
What if my income is exactly at a Massachusetts limit?
The wording differs. MassHealth’s table says “Below or equal to 190% FPL” for QMB and “Above 190% FPL and less than or equal to 225% FPL” for SLMB/QI, but its FAQ says you must have countable income “under the income limits in the table”, and the table says its figures are rounded and may not reflect the figures used in program determination (225% of $1,330 is $2,992.50, printed as $2,993). Income of exactly $2,527 or $2,993 after the $20 is therefore shown as at the limit; ask MassHealth.
Are the 2027 Massachusetts Medicare Savings Program limits out yet?
The 2027 limits are not yet published as of October 31, 2026: Medicare.gov and the SSA Program Operations Manual still list the 2026 limits as the current ones. This page shows no 2027 limit and makes no estimate. MassHealth’s page says its income limits change each year on March 1.
Other state pages
Sources
- MassHealth: Get help paying Medicare costs
- MassHealth: Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs) FAQs (MSP-FAQ_2026-03)
- MassHealth: 2026 MassHealth Income Standards and Federal Poverty Guidelines, effective March 1, 2026
- MassHealth: Medicare Savings Programs application booklet (form MHBI-0325)
- 130 CMR 520.000: MassHealth, Financial Eligibility (520.011 to 520.013)
- Medicare.gov: Medicare Savings Programs
Reviewed October 31, 2026 against the state sources above.