Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008

MIPPA provides resources to help people with limited income and assets pay for Medicare.

Medicare can be expensive for those with limited resources. The average beneficiary on Medicare spent $6,168 on premiums and other out of pocket expenses in 2018, according to an analysis by AARP. It also found that one in 10 spent at least $10,816.

MIPPA allocates federal grants to the states, the District of Columbia and federally recognized tribes. The allocations are administered by the federal Administration for Community Living.

The MIPPA grants provide targeted funding to agencies and organizations in each state or tribe that enroll eligible Medicare beneficiaries in financial assistance through MIPPA.

The outreach and assistance includes focused efforts to target people eligible for MIPPA assistance including tribal elders and others living in rural areas.

MIPPA has provided more than five billion dollars in benefits to Medicare enrollees since 2009, according to the National Council on Aging. And more than 1.8 million people have applied for MIPPA assistance in that time.

Grantee organizations help eligible beneficiaries apply for two specific assistance programs to help them pay Medicare costs.

MIPPA grantee organizations will also help Medicare beneficiaries with limited income and resources to enroll in other assistance programs.

Grantee organizations also provide outreach — or community education programs — about Medicare Preventive Services. These services include Medicare-covered exams and screenings including the Welcome to Medicare preventive visit and yearly wellness visit as well as heart and cancer screenings and annual flu shots.

Passage of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 led relatively quickly to expanded access to Medicare Savings Programs, according to the nonprofit Center for Medicare Advocacy.

Medicare Savings Program enrollment has increased from 7.7 million enrollees in 2007 — the year before MIPPA became law — to 10.97 million in 2019, according to data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Each MSP has its own specific eligibility criteria, but all require that you live in the United States, be 65 or older and receive Social Security disability benefits or meet other income and limited resources requirements.