Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries: Further Outreach and Administrative Simplification Could Increase Enrollment

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the level of enrollment in the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program and the Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) program, focusing on: (1) the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of: (a) Medicare beneficiaries who enroll as a QMB or SLMB; and (b) Medicare beneficiaries who qualify for QMB or SLMB but do not enroll; (2) reasons why eligible beneficiaries are not enrolled; and (3) strategies to increase enrollment.