Skip to main content
Free helpMedicare help (SHIP)1-877-839-2675Eldercare Locator1-800-677-1116
Text size
Menu
Text size

Prescription costs

State drug help programs (SPAPs)

Some states run a State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program (SPAP) that helps people pay for prescriptions, often by covering Medicare drug plan premiums or copays. Each state sets its own rules, based on things like income, age or a medical condition. What an SPAP pays for you may count toward Medicare's yearly limit on drug costs.

Checked

Rules set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
An older man's hands filling a weekly pill organizer next to prescription bottles

Rules in your state

Your state runs State drug help programs (SPAPs), so the name, the limits and how to apply depend on where you live.

Who may qualify

Who may qualify for State drug help programs (SPAPs)
Who may qualifySet by each state, based on things like financial need, age or a medical condition
Where it's offeredMany states have one

Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (source 1)

What you may get

What State drug help programs (SPAPs) pays
What it may help payYour Medicare drug plan premiums, your share of drug costs, or both, depending on the program
Counts toward the Part D yearly limitWhat the program pays for you may count toward your out-of-pocket limit for Medicare drug coverage

Source: Medicare.gov (source 2)

Good to know

  • To find out whether your state has a program and how it works, use Medicare's state drug help finder or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
  • These state programs are different from the help some drug makers offer, called Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs or Patient Assistance Programs.
  • If your income and savings are limited, also look at Extra Help, a Medicare program that lowers Part D premiums, deductibles and copays.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (source 1), Medicare.gov (source 3)

What people get wrong

  • MythOnly what I pay out of my own pocket counts toward the Part D yearly limit.

    Not true. Certain payments made for you count, such as through Extra Help, and what a State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program pays may count too.

State drug help programs (SPAPs) in every state

State drug help programs (SPAPs) in each state
StateWhat it's calledIncome limit
AlabamaNot offeredSee state page
AlaskaNot offeredSee state page
ArizonaNot offeredSee state page
ArkansasNot offeredSee state page
CaliforniaNot offeredSee state page
ColoradoNot offeredSee state page
ConnecticutNot offeredSee state page
DelawareDelaware Prescription Assistance Program$2,660 a month
District of ColumbiaNot offeredSee state page
FloridaNot offeredSee state page
GeorgiaNot offeredSee state page
HawaiiNot offeredSee state page
IdahoNot offeredSee state page
IllinoisNot offeredSee state page
IndianaHoosierRx$23,940 a year
IowaNot offeredSee state page
KansasNot offeredSee state page
KentuckyNot offeredSee state page
LouisianaNot offeredSee state page
MaineLow Cost Drugs for the Elderly and DisabledSee state page
MarylandSenior Prescription Drug Assistance Program$47,880 a year
MassachusettsNot offeredSee state page
MichiganNot offeredSee state page
MinnesotaNot offeredSee state page
MississippiNot offeredSee state page
MissouriNot offeredSee state page
MontanaNot offeredSee state page
NebraskaNot offeredSee state page
NevadaNot offeredSee state page
New HampshireNot offeredSee state page
New JerseyPAAD and Senior GoldLess than $54,943 a year
New MexicoNot offeredSee state page
New YorkEPICUnder $75,000 a year
North CarolinaNot offeredSee state page
North DakotaNot offeredSee state page
OhioNot offeredSee state page
OklahomaNot offeredSee state page
OregonNot offeredSee state page
PennsylvaniaPACE and PACENET$14,500 or less
Rhode IslandRIPAESee state page
South CarolinaNot offeredSee state page
South DakotaNot offeredSee state page
TennesseeNot offeredSee state page
TexasNot offeredSee state page
UtahNot offeredSee state page
VermontVPharmUp to $2,993 a month
VirginiaNot offeredSee state page
WashingtonNot offeredSee state page
West VirginiaNot offeredSee state page
WisconsinSeniorCareNo upper limit. Income up to $25,536 a year gets the lowest costs
WyomingNot offeredSee state page

Sources

  1. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare & You 2027 (the official Medicare handbook) (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  2. Medicare.gov, How much does Medicare drug coverage cost? (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  3. Medicare.gov, Help with drug costs (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.

Was this page helpful?

Report an error on this page

Tell us which figure or sentence, and where you saw the right one if you can.

Only if you want a reply. We won't add you to any list.