- Fewer than 1 in 5 households that qualify for energy bill assistance ever receive it.
- Programs cover heating and cooling bills, shut-off emergencies, free home upgrades, phone and internet, and home repairs.
- Your health depends on a safe, functioning home: heat in winter, cooling in summer, power for medical equipment.
- A Careway Advocate can help find programs you may qualify for and stay with you through every application.
Careway Advocates are dedicated care navigators who help people find and apply for Medicare and community benefits they may qualify for. Advocacy is covered by Medicare for people who qualify.
The 8 assistance programs that keep the lights on.
LIHEAP — federal help with heating and cooling bills.
For households that qualify, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program can pay part of heating and cooling costs, usually as a credit sent straight to the utility company. You typically apply once a year through a local agency. Fewer than 1 in 5 eligible households receive it. Funds often run out, so applying early matters.
Emergency help to stop a shut-off.
If a disconnection notice arrives, you have more protection than you think: LIHEAP crisis funds can pay a past-due balance fast, most states restrict shut-offs in extreme weather, and many protect households where someone relies on electric-powered medical equipment, often with a simple medical certification from a doctor.
Free home upgrades that shrink every future bill.
For eligible households, the federal Weatherization Assistance Program sends professionals to insulate, air-seal, and tune up the home at no cost, which can lower energy bills for years, according to the Department of Energy. Older adults are a priority group.
Your utility company's own assistance programs.
Many electric, gas, and water utilities run programs they rarely advertise: hardship funds that can help with past-due balances, senior and low-income discount rates, budget billing, and payment plans. Water utilities increasingly run their own bill assistance too.
Lifeline — a monthly discount on phone or internet.
The federal Lifeline program discounts phone or internet service for qualifying households every month. People on SNAP, Medicaid, or SSI generally qualify based on that participation, though an application is still required. A phone that stays connected isn't a luxury: it's how you reach your doctor, your pharmacy, and your family.
Home repair and modification help.
A leaking roof or a broken furnace is a health emergency in slow motion. USDA offers home repair loans and grants for eligible low-income rural homeowners (grants are limited to those 62 and older), Medicaid waiver programs in many states may cover safety modifications like grab bars and ramps for eligible members, and local Area Agencies on Aging may run repair programs of their own.
Medicare Savings Programs — free up the money the bills compete with.
If the utility bill is squeezing your budget, the fastest relief is often on the other side of the ledger. For people who qualify, Medicare Savings Programs can pay the Part B premium, which is worth more than $2,000 a year, and one program (QMB) can also cover Medicare deductibles and copays. Many eligible people aren't enrolled.
A dedicated Careway Advocate who can help with the other seven.
Every program above is real. The reason many seniors never use them is that each one lives in a different place (a federal agency, your state, your county, your utility company), each with its own application, deadline, and paperwork. A Careway Advocate can be the person who works through it with you, and Careway's advocacy is covered by Medicare for eligible beneficiaries. Each program still has its own eligibility rules.
Your health depends on a safe, functioning home.
Utility bills look like a money problem. For older adults, they're a health problem wearing a money problem's clothes.
- Heat and cold are medical risks. Older bodies regulate temperature poorly. A home kept too cold to save money raises the risk of heart strain, and summer heat without cooling is one of the most dangerous weather events for seniors.
- Medical equipment needs power. Oxygen concentrators, CPAP machines, power wheelchairs, and refrigerated medications like insulin all depend on the electricity staying on.
- Dangerous trade-offs are quiet. When the bill is too big, people don't announce it: they turn the thermostat down, skip medications, or eat less. The damage shows up later, in the emergency room.
- A failing home ends independence. A broken furnace, an un-air-conditioned summer, or an unsafe repair is often the event that pushes a senior out of their home for good.
That's why utility assistance is part of how Careway keeps patients healthy at home: it's not charity, it's care.
Why these programs get missed.
The programs exist. The reason people don't get them isn't fraud or stinginess. The system isn't built to find you; it's built to be applied to.
- Assistance is scattered across federal programs, state agencies, county offices, nonprofits, and the utility companies themselves, each with its own application.
- Application windows open and close, and LIHEAP funds run out, so even eligible people who apply late get nothing.
- Utilities don't advertise their hardship funds and discount rates; you have to know to ask.
- Pride keeps people who worked their whole lives from asking for help with a bill they've always paid.
Your Careway Advocate's job is to help with the search, start to finish, and to help get the paperwork right.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, for people who meet Medicare's eligibility requirements. Careway's advocacy is covered by Medicare as a Part B service, so the Part B deductible and 20% coinsurance may apply. If you have a supplemental policy (Medigap) or Medicaid, your standard coinsurance may be fully covered. We'll go over what you may owe before you start.
Generally no. Energy assistance usually isn't counted as income, so it typically doesn't reduce Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or SNAP. Getting one benefit can also make it easier to qualify for others.
Yes. Homeowners and renters can both be eligible for LIHEAP, Lifeline, and utility company programs, depending on income. Homeowners may also be eligible for weatherization and repair programs; renters can often get weatherization too with the landlord's sign-off.
Often not. Crisis programs are designed for this situation. LIHEAP crisis funds, state shut-off protections, and medical certifications may help prevent a disconnection. Tell your Advocate about a notice right away.
Yes. With your permission, your Advocate communicates with your family (sons, daughters, spouses) so everyone stays on the same page. That's especially useful when family lives in another state.
The eligibility check takes 2 minutes. For people who qualify, the first call with a Careway physician is often scheduled within about a week. Your doctor then confirms whether you're eligible to be matched with an Advocate.
The bottom line.
Help paying the utility bills exists at the federal level, the state level, and from the utility companies themselves. It goes unused because it's scattered across a dozen offices and nobody's job is to find it for you.
Your health depends on a warm, cool, powered, connected home. A Careway Advocate can help you apply for assistance you may qualify for, so staying safely at home is easier.
- Administration for Children and Families. LIHEAP Fact Sheet
- Edison Electric Institute. LIHEAP Funding
- U.S. Department of Energy. Weatherization Assistance Program
- Federal Communications Commission. Lifeline Program for Low-Income Consumers
- USDA Rural Development. Single Family Housing Repair Loans & Grants
- Medicare.gov. Medicare Savings Programs
- Medicaid.gov. Home and Community-Based Services