State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)
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. The 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 DHFS), (a service of the
Wisconsin Board on Aging & Long Term Care 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.
The 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 DHFS), 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 DHFS), primarily
for persons under age 60 eligible for Medicare because of a disability
(1-800-926-4862, 1-888-758-6049 TTY).
The SHIP also provides benefits counseling to persons
who are deaf or hard of hearing and use sign language as their primary
language, http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/disabilities/benspecs/deafDBS.htm
The local component of the SHIP consists 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, http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/disabilities/benspecs/program.htm
. They are available in every county where there is a state-funded Aging
and Disability Resource Center.
The SHIP also funds education and individual health
benefits assistance for Native American Medicare beneficiaries through
the Indian Law Office of
Wisconsin Judicare, Inc. (exit DHFS) (1-800-472-1638)
It also funds the Southeastern
Wisconsin Area Agency on Aging (exit DHFS) to
provide assistance on Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare drug plans
(1-877-333-0202) in southeastern Wisconsin.
Last Revised: March 20, 2008 |
