Michigan Medicare Savings Program Income Limits 2026

Michigan updates its Medicare Savings Program income limits every April, after the federal poverty level guidelines come out in January. If you're checking whether your parent qualifies for Part B premium help, working from stale numbers can lead you to skip an application they'd actually pass.

Here are the 2026 figures MDHHS uses from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2027.

2026 Income Limits by Program Tier

These limits already include the mandatory $20 unearned income disregard. That means gross income can actually be $20 higher than the base federal poverty level cutoff before MDHHS counts you over-income.

How MDHHS Calculates Countable Income

The caseworker starts with gross Social Security (the amount before Part B premiums, taxes, or garnishments are deducted) and applies the $20 household disregard. For someone receiving $1,365 in gross monthly Social Security, the math works like this: $1,365 minus $20 equals $1,345 countable — under the $1,350 QMB ceiling.

Earned income gets additional treatment. MDHHS disregards the first $65 of gross monthly earnings, then half of what remains. A part-time job earning $400 would count as only $167.50 after these exclusions.

The January, February, and March catch matters too. When Social Security's annual cost-of-living increase hits in January, MDHHS doesn't apply the new federal poverty levels until April 1. During that three-month window, the COLA increase is disregarded for MSP budgeting, preventing mid-winter coverage terminations.

What Counts as Income (and What Doesn't)

MDHHS counts Social Security retirement and disability benefits, pensions, annuity payments, dividends, and interest. For married couples, both spouses' income is combined and measured against the couple limits — but an adult child's income living in the same household is never counted against a parent's eligibility.

An adult child's salary isn't deemed to a parent applying for MSP, even when they live together. But do not treat Social Security Fairness Act changes as a Pickle Amendment exclusion: higher ongoing Social Security benefits can change MSP eligibility, so use the current gross benefit amount.

When Income Puts You Between Tiers

Landing between QMB and SLMB isn't a cliff. Both programs stop Part B premiums from being deducted from the monthly Social Security check. QMB additionally covers all Medicare deductibles, copays, and coinsurance, while SLMB handles only the Part B premium.

If your parent's income sits just above the QMB ceiling — say $1,360 gross, netting $1,340 after the disregard — they qualify for QMB. If they're at $1,380 gross ($1,360 countable), they fall into SLMB territory. Either way, the Part B premium stops coming out of their check.

For ALMB, the critical difference is that it's funded through annual federal block grants, so coverage can't cross calendar-year boundaries when applied retroactively. SLMB and QMB don't have that restriction.

What to Do If Your Parent Is Close to the Line

Gather the most recent Social Security benefit statement (the gross amount, not the net deposit), any pension or annuity statements, and bank statements showing interest income. Run the disregards yourself before assuming they don't qualify — many families overestimate countable income by using net Social Security deposits rather than working the deductions.

If the numbers are tight, the Michigan Medicare Savings Programs & Extra Help Guide walks through five household examples with dollar-by-dollar math, including couples, multi-generational households, and cases where earned income changes the picture.

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