Applying for Medicare drug help now counts as applying for premium help

The Medicare Savings Program can pay the standard Medicare Part B premium, which is $202.90 a month in 2026. Many people who qualify have missed out because New York sent them a second paper application. This law eliminates that second application. When Social Security sends New York data from your Extra Help application, the state treats it as your Medicare Savings Program application. Information Social Security verified must be accepted without another check when the data supports an eligibility decision.

You do not need to file a second MSP form, but applying does not guarantee approval: New York still must determine that you meet the program’s rules. Since April 1, 2026, the state’s Medicaid Eligibility and Client Management system has handled these referrals and automatically added MSP benefits for eligible people. The state also has to report yearly on the program and the number of applications received this way.

One rollout problem affects some people who already have Medicaid. NY Health Access reports that an MSP case created in the new system can overwrite a full Medicaid case and wrongly close that coverage. As of August 2026, the state was manually correcting affected cases and said a system fix was scheduled for March 2027.

Sen. Cordell Cleare and Assembly Member Amy Paulin sponsored the bill; Assembly Member Nader Sayegh co-sponsored it. AARP New York director Beth Finkel and Medicare Rights Center president Frederic Riccardi urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign it. The Senate passed it 57–0, and Hochul signed it in December 2024. Cleare and Paulin also sponsored the follow-up signed in February 2025 that set the April 1, 2026 start date.