Money saving programs
Independence Blue Cross is here to help you find additional savings when you need it most. We can tell you about ways to get extra money to pay for some of your health care and household expenses. As a Medicare beneficiary, you may be eligible for a variety of public benefits and other assistance programs to help you manage your health care and household expenses.
To learn more about resources to help you feel more financially secure, attend a meeting with a local Medicare expert or request our Guide to Savings.
Or call, 1-866-534-7139 (TTY/TDD: 711) seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.*
Medical and prescription assistance
Extra Help
Low Income Subsidy (LIS), sometimes called “Extra Help”, is a program for Medicare beneficiaries to assist in paying their monthly premiums, annual deductibles, and prescription copayments related to their Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage plan. For more information on low income subsidies (LIS), visit Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The tables below show you what your monthly plan premium will be if you get extra help.
2025 Personal Choice 65 PPO plans
| Plan premium with extra help applied¹ | ||
|---|---|---|
Plan name |
Without extra help |
100% |
| Prime Rx PPO | $0.00 (Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) | $0.00 (Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) |
| Personal Choice 65 Rx PPO | $192.00 (Philadelphia and Bucks residents) $152.00 (Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) |
$143.60 (Philadelphia and Bucks residents) $103.60 (Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) |
| Personal Choice 65 Elite Rx PPO | $16.60 (Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) | $0.00 (Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) |
| Personal Choice 65 Saver Rx PPO | $0.00 (Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) | $0.00 (Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) |
| Personal Choice 65 Plus RX PPO | $164.00 (Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) | $115.60 (Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) |
2025 Keystone 65 HMO plans
| Plan premium with extra help applied¹ | ||
|---|---|---|
Plan name |
Without extra help |
100% |
| Keystone 65 Basic Rx HMO | $0.00 ((Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) | $0.00 (Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) |
| Keystone 65 Focus Rx HMO-POS | $0.00 (Philadelphia and Bucks residents) $10.00 (Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) |
$0.00 (Philadelphia and Bucks residents) $10.00 (Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) |
| Keystone 65 Essential Rx HMO-POS | $2.10 (Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents | $0.00 (Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) |
| Keystone 65 Select Rx HMO | $42.00 (Philadelphia and Bucks residents) $69.00 (Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) |
$32.40 (Philadelphia and Bucks residents) $69.00 (Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) |
| Keystone 65 Preferred Rx HMO | $173.00 (Philadelphia and Bucks residents) $143.00 (Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) |
$124.60 (Philadelphia and Bucks residents) $127.60 (Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery residents) |
Learn more or apply now.
Additional money saving programs in Pennsylvania
Here are a few programs available to eligible members to help with saving money on prescriptions.
PACE/PACENET/PACE Plus
The Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly (PACE), PACE Needs Enhancement Tier (PACENET), and PACE Plus programs offer coverage for generic and brand-name drugs with minimal copayment for each covered prescription filled.
Learn more or apply now.
Medicare Savings Programs
Depending on which program you qualify for, a Medicare Savings Program will pay your Medicare premiums for Parts A and B, your Medicare deductibles, your Medicare copayments, or a combination of these expenses. The Medicare Savings Programs are offered by the Department of Public Welfare and are known in Pennsylvania as Healthy Horizons.
Learn more or apply now.
To learn about additional programs and organizations that can help with expenses related to food, housing, and transportation, request our Guide to Savings or attend a local meeting.
Best available evidence policy
Early in 2006, a number of factors contributed to the problem of incorrect cost-sharing levels for individuals eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, called full-benefit dual eligibles and other low-income (LIS) eligible individuals. The purpose of this link is to provide a member with information on CMS best available data policy, which is the policy CMS uses to determine eligibility in financial assistance programs.
In certain cases, CMS systems do not reflect a beneficiary's correct low-income subsidy (LIS) status at a particular point in time. To address these situations, CMS created the best available evidence (BAE) policy. This policy requires Plans to establish the appropriate cost-sharing for low-income beneficiaries when presented with evidence that the beneficiary's information is not accurate.
Learn more about the Best Available Evidence Policy.
1 This does not include the Medicare Part B premium you must continue to pay. Independence Blue Cross's premium includes coverage for both medical services and prescription drug coverage. You may be able to get Extra Help to pay for your prescription drug premiums and costs. To see if you qualify for extra help, call:
- 1-800-MEDICARE. TTY/TDD users call 1-877-486-2048 (24 hours a day/seven days a week);
- Pennsylvania Office of Medical Assistance Programs (Medicaid) at 1-800-537-8862;
- the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213. TTY/TDD users should call 1-800-325-0778 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.
If you have any questions, please call the plan at 1-877-393-6733, (Speech- and hearing-impaired: 711) from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, seven days a week. Please note that on weekends and holidays from April 1 through September 30, your call may be sent to voicemail.
CMS defines brand and generic drugs based on what kind of application the drug manufacturer filed with the FDA.
- Drugs filed with a New Drug Application (NDA) are considered brand for purposes of catastrophic and LIS cost share.
- Drugs filed with an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) are considered generics.
- This will not always match up to the brand/generic formulary tier assignments defined by Independence
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Website last updated: 12/5/2024