State Health Insurance Assistance Program
State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) can help you make choices about your health benefits.
SHIP provides free health insurance counseling to people with Medicare, their family members, or caregivers. SHIP counselors are trained to provide education, assistance, and advocacy related to Medicare and Medicaid.
What is Medicare?
SHIP counselors can cover many topics:
- Medicare and Medicaid
- Supplemental insurance
- Prescription drug coverage
- Long-term care insurance
- Medicare health plans
- Medicare-Medicaid fraud and abuse
- New health care options
Call SHIP toll-free help line at 1-800-803-7174 to speak with a counselor, or to find out how to become a volunteer SHIP counselor, and for more information, please visit:
What is Person-Centered Options Counseling?
MI Options is a program that empowers and provides enhanced information to help individuals make informed
decisions and exercise control over long-term care needs by incorporating their personal goals and preferences.
The program includes free, unbiased Medicare counseling services though the State Health Insurance Assistance
Program and Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act Program, and Person-Centered Options
Counseling for adults needing assistance to support their needs for long-term services and supports.
Medicare Card:
Medicare cards were updated in 2018 to remove the social security number, gender, and signature line.
The social security number was replaced with a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI). All Medicare cards were replaced in 2019. As of January 1, 2020, beneficiaries will only be allowed to use the new card.
