Medicare Savings Programs in Indiana
Indiana runs all three programmes at higher income bands than federal law requires: QMB at 150% of the poverty guideline rather than 100%, SLMB at 170% rather than 120%, and QI at 185% rather than 135%. In dollars the QMB limit is $2,015 a month against a federal $1,350, the 5th highest in the country. What makes Indiana unusual is the evenness: it is the only state that lifts all three bands by exactly the same fifty percentage points. Only one other state, Connecticut, sits above the federal figure on all three while still running them as three separate programmes — and Connecticut's lifts are uneven.
What Indiana publishes for 2026
| Programme | One person | Married couple | Federal figure | vs federal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QMB150% FPL | $2,015 | $2,725 | $1,350 | 149% |
| SLMB170% FPL | $2,281 | $3,086 | $1,616 | 141% |
| QI185% FPL | $2,481 | $3,356 | $1,816 | 137% |
| Resource limit | $9,950 | $14,910 | $9,950 | 100% |
Effective income 1 March 2026; resources 1 January 2026. Source: Help paying for your Medicare costs, Indiana SHIP. The two percentages differ because they measure different things: the band is 150% of the poverty guideline, while the last column compares against the federal screening limit, which already has the $20 added. These figures already include the $20 monthly general income disregard.
Two sets of Indiana figures, $20 apart
Indiana publishes these limits in two places that do not agree. The consumer materials give $2,015 for QMB; the state's own policy manual gives a net income standard of $1,995. The difference is the $20 general income disregard: the manual states the figure before it is applied, and the consumer page states it after.
Neither is wrong and neither is more current. They describe the same rule at two points in the calculation. We show the consumer figure, because it is the one a person compares their own income against.
The asset test is not expanded
Indiana's generosity is entirely on the income side. Its resource limits are the federal $9,950 and $14,910, unchanged. So the state admits people at incomes that would fail almost everywhere else, then applies the same savings test everyone else does — which is a different shape from 12 jurisdictions that keep ordinary income limits and drop the resource test entirely.
How Indiana compares with the rest of the country
This is the part a state agency page cannot tell you, because it has only its own figures. We hold all 51.
- Income. Indiana’s QMB limit of $2,015 is the 5th highest of the 46 jurisdictions publishing a comparable figure, at 149% of the federal screening limit. The highest is the District of Columbia at $4,010; most states sit at $1,350 or the bare $1,330 beneath it.
- Resources. Indiana applies the federal resource limits, as most do. 12 jurisdictions apply none at all, and 3 set theirs higher than federal.
The full table of all 51 carries every figure with the agency page it came from.
What qualifying is worth beyond the premium
All three programmes carry full Extra Help for Part D automatically — federal regulation treats anyone eligible for QMB, SLMB or QI as a full-subsidy individual, with no separate application. And the Part D late enrollment penalty, which is otherwise permanent, is not charged while someone is subsidy-eligible. Qualifying in Indiana therefore stops a penalty being charged for as long as the eligibility lasts — a waiver for that period rather than a cancellation, since a later gap in coverage without Extra Help can bring one back.
How to apply in Indiana
Applications go to a local Division of Family Resources office — not to Medicare, and not to this site. Indiana SHIP on 1-800-452-4800. Applying for Extra Help through Social Security also starts a savings-programme application with the state unless you ask it not to. Free, unbiased help is available from a State Health Insurance Assistance Program counsellor at shiphelp.org.
Even if the individual’s income or resources appear somewhat higher than the state limits, encourage them to apply for the MSPs.
Indiana’s published limits, traced to the agency that published them. It is not advice, not an eligibility determination, and not a substitute for applying — Indiana decides. Limits change, and these carry an effective date of income 1 March 2026; resources 1 January 2026. If a figure here does not match the agency page it links to, tell us and we will correct it.