Tip: Get extra help to pay for meds

About 2 million seniors in the United States qualify for financial assistance to help them pay for prescription drugs but haven't enrolled in the federal program that makes the payments, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

To qualify for the Extra Help program, a Medicare beneficiary's annual income must be less than $16,335 ($22,065 for a married couple) and have resources no higher than $12,640 ($25,260 for a married couple). The government defines resources as bank accounts, stocks and bonds. It does not include a house, a car or a life insurance policy.

Those who qualify for the program would pay a maximum $2.50 for a generic drug and $6.30 for a brand-name drug. For more information, go to socialsecurity.gov/

prescriptionhelp or call 800-772-1213.