State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)
Trainings for SHIP Counselors
SHIPTALK:
The National SHIP Resource Center (Exit DHS)
SHIP Volunteers
The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) refers to a group of
federal and state funded programs. These programs work together to provide
assistance with public and private health insurance issues and options
to Medicare beneficiaries or those soon to be Medicare beneficiaries,
their families and caregivers. SHIP has a centralized component of
statewide assistance and a local component of county- and tribal-based
benefit counselors.
The centralized component includes the Medigap
Helpline (exit DHS), at 1-800-242-1060
that provides counseling on original Medicare, Medicare
supplement insurance, employer-based health insurance, Medicare
Advantage plans, long term care insurance and related topics (a service of the
Wisconsin Board on Aging and Long Term Care (exit DHS).
SHIP operates two toll-free assistance centers to
help persons with the drug benefit under Part D of Medicare: the
Wisconsin Prescription Drug Helpline operated by the Coalition
of Wisconsin Aging Groups (exit DHS) primarily
for persons age 60 and older (1-866-456-8211, 1-888-758-6047 TTY/Textnet);
and the Disability Drug Benefit Helpline, operated by Disability
Rights Wisconsin (exit DHS), primarily
for persons under age 60 eligible for Medicare because of a disability
(1-800-926-4862, 1-888-758-6049 TTY).
The local component of SHIP consists predominantly of the
Elderly
Benefit Specialist Program and the Disability Benefit Specialist
Program. Benefit specialists are well-trained local advocates who assist
not only with Medicare issues but with other private and governmental
benefits as well. Elderly benefit specialists, who serve persons age 60
and above, are available for every county and tribe.
Disability benefit specialists serve persons with a disability age 18
through 59. They are available in every county where there is a state-funded Aging
and Disability Resource Center.
SHIP also provides benefits counseling
through the Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to persons
who are deaf, hard of hearing or deafblind and use sign language as their primary
language.
SHIP also funds education and individual health
benefits assistance for Native American Medicare beneficiaries through
the Indian Law Office of
Wisconsin Judicare, Inc. (exit DHS) (1-800-472-1638)
It also funds the Greater Wisconsin
Agency on Aging Resources (exit DHS) to
provide assistance on Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare drug plans
(1-877-333-0202) in Wisconsin.
Last Revised: October 13, 2011 |
