Help seniors understand the health insurance maze - training provided

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The focus of the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) is to educate Medicare beneficiaries and anyone over the age of 60 so they can make informed decisions about benefits issues based on their circumstances and needs.

We welcome volunteer SHIP counselors who can help eligible clients with:

• counseling at either the counseling site, by telephone, or at the home of a homebound client;
• filling out forms, filing claims, and appeals;
• filling out forms and providing information on appeal processes;
• providing accurate and current information on programs for older adults
• organizing paperwork (e.g., hospital bills, doctor bills, Medicare notices),
• comparing long term care and Medigap insurance policies,
• applying for income-based benefits (e.g., Medicaid, SSI, food SNAP),
• referring beneficiaries to appropriate agencies for application programs.

In order to be a SHIP counselor each volunteer must complete SHIP certification training (in February 2012) and attend annual recertification training. SHIP counselors are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of our clients and cannot be active in selling insurance or have any potential financial gain from being a SHIP volunteer.

More information on SHIP available at http://www.lablaw.org/SHIP/SHIP-volunteer.htm