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Every person deserves access to good, affordable healthcare. No senior or person with a disability should have to worry about how to pay for the high cost of prescription drugs. Illinois Cares Rx provides state prescription drug assistance to people with and without Medicare. Illinois Cares Rx provides two prescription drug benefits: Illinois Cares Rx Plus and Illinois Cares Rx Basic.

You qualify for Illinois Cares Rx Plus if:

• You have Medicare; or
• You are 65 years of age or older without Medicare; and
• You are a U.S. citizen or qualified noncitizen; and
• You are filing an application for yourself only and your total income is less than $21,780; or
• You are filing an application for yourself and your spouse or yourself and a Qualified Additional Resident and your total income is less than $29,420.

Illinois Cares Rx Plus covers almost all prescription drugs.

You qualify for Illinois Cares Rx Basic if:

• You do not have Medicare; and
• You are 16 years of age or older but under age 65 and totally disabled, or 65 years of age or older and you do not meet the requirements for Illinois Cares Rx Plus; and
• You are filing an application for yourself only and your total income is less than $22,340; or
• You are filing an application for yourself and your spouse or yourself and a Qualified Additional Resident and your total income is less than $30,260; or
• You are filing an application for yourself, your spouse and at least one Qualified Additional Resident, or yourself and at least two Qualified Additional Resident(s) and your total income is less than $38,180.

Illinois Cares Rx Basic covers prescription drugs used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, glaucoma, heart disease and its related conditions, lung disease and smoking-related illnesses, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis and Parkinson’s disease.

All persons with Medicare are required to apply for "Extra Help" from Social Security (if you currently have "Extra Help" you do not need to reapply unless notified by the Social Security Administration to do so) and be in a coordinating Medicare drug plan to maximize benefits.

You may file an Extra Help Application on the Internet with the Social Security Administration; or you may obtain a form by calling: Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213, or Illinois Department on Aging Senior HelpLine at 1-800-252-8966, 1-888-206-1327 (TTY).