Question: I’m an applicant for Medicare’s Extra Help program and they want details about my checking and/or savings account and any stocks, bonds, mutual funds, IRAs, etc. This surprised me. Don’t they need just my Social Security income to qualify me?

Answer: No. We’ve gotten similar questions about Extra Help a few times, so we’ll try to clear up any confusion, based on information from the Medicare website, medicare.gov, which has endless details about the federal health insurance for people 65 and older and younger people with certain health conditions.

Extra Help helps Medicare members with low income and resources pay Part D drug coverage premiums, deductibles and co-payments. Some people automatically qualify for Extra Help, while others can apply.

>> Automatic: You could automatically qualify for Extra Help if you get full Medicaid coverage, or get help from the state paying Part B premiums (from a Medicare Savings Program), or get Supplemental Security Income from Social Security.

>> Apply: Those who don’t qualify automatically can apply if their income and resources fall below certain limits, which generally rise each year. For Hawaii residents in 2024, the income limit is $25,965 for an individual or $35,250 for a married couple. The resource limit is $17,220 or $34,360, respectively. Money in checking, savings and retirement accounts; certificates of deposit; stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other investments all count toward the resource limit. Your house does not count, if you live in it.

Once you qualify, Extra Help will continue through the calendar year, even if your financial situation improves. If you don’t qualify now, you can reapply if your income or resources decline below the limit.

We also found information about Extra Help on the website of the Hawaii Medical Service Association, which lists what counts as income for eligibility purposes, including: wages or earnings from jobs or self-­employment; income from pensions, annuities, and benefits, such as from Social Security, the Railroad Retirement Board, and Veterans Affairs; alimony; rental income; workers’ compensation; unemployment insurance; and disability payments.

Q: With the ongoing problem of work furlough escapees, don’t prison officials attach tracking devices to those incarcerated who leave a facility to work or seek employment?

A: Electronic monitoring is sometimes used but is not always required for Hawaii inmates in programs that allow them to work paying jobs in the community, or to seek such jobs, and return to confinement after their work or job search ends for the day. Inmates in furlough programs are nearing release from prison.

Generally, work furlough inmates who have been employed for several months do not “walk away,” Rose­marie Bernardo, a spokesperson for the Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said in an email.

“The walkaways are generally offenders who are newly placed in a work furlough program and placed on electronic monitoring until it is determined that they are at a lower risk of walking away,” she said. “We cannot control human behavior. Even if an offender meets all the criteria for placement in a furlough program, there are issues that could potentially trigger a furlough inmate to walk away, such as relationship issues, stress, use of alcohol or drugs and others.”

The most recent incident occurred March 25, when an inmate on a job-seeking day pass failed to return to the Laumaka Work Furlough Center. He was apprehended March 27 in Kaimuki.

Mahalo

A heartfelt “thank you” to whoever found my car keys, used the key fob to locate my car parked in the Ala Moana Center stall near the ramp to the Ala Moana Hotel, and left the keys on the driver’s seat. As a senior citizen, I was at a loss on how to proceed when I discovered I had lost my car keys. I never dreamed I would find it placed in my car. There are no words to describe how grateful I am for your honesty and knowledge in using the key fob to locate the car. You are a savior. — C.K.

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.