Options for aiding low-income Medicare beneficiaries

This paper examines the effectiveness of the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB), Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB), and Qualified Individual (QI) programs that seek to ease the financial burdens of health costs on low-income Medicare beneficiaries. While participation in these programs has been increasing steadily over time, much remains to be done to extend benefits to all those currently eligible. This paper estimates levels of participation in the existing programs and considers several scenarios under which participation could be increased further, including federalizing the existing programs, raising or eliminating asset limits, and raising income ceilings.