CMS Provides $46.5 Million to State Health Insurance Programs (SHIPs)
Good news for State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) around the country. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is in the process of distributing nearly $46.5 million in basic grant funding to help people with Medicare, and those who care for them, receive information and counseling about their health benefits and choices.
“The funding is going to 54 SHIP organizations around the country,” says Alan Weinstock, an insurance broker at MedicareSupplementPlans.com. “SHIPs provide counseling to Medicare beneficiaries.” And with the new preventive services available at no cost, the CMS is hoping people will take advantage of this opportunity to get an annual wellness visit.
Understanding What SHIPs Are All About
These grants are the first of two rounds of funding to be distributed to SHIPs in fiscal year 2011. Performance grants will be distributed to SHIPs in September 2011 based on their performance and accomplishments in the prior grant year. Grant funding will allow SHIPs to expand and develop new strategies to strengthen their community-based and grassroots networks.
The SHIPs provide personalized, one-on-one counseling, information, education and outreach to help people understand their Medicare benefits. Medicare beneficiaries can get assistance with information and support for Medicare prescription drug coverage, Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare supplemental insurance policies, Medicare Savings Programs, long-term care insurance and financing, and other public and private health insurance coverage options. SHIPs also assist eligible participants to enroll in these programs and plans.
CMS establishes goals to ensure consistency in access to services from SHIPs for Medicare beneficiaries. For 2011, CMS updated these performance measures.
California Health Insurance Counseling & Advocacy Program (HICAP)
California’s SHIP is known as HICAP and serves nearly half a million Medicare beneficiaries annually at 24 locally accessible HICAPs through contracts with the California network of 33 Area Agencies on Aging that cover all 58 counties in California. HICAPS are of particular importance to Medicare beneficiaries who are residents of rural communities, mental health clients, frail elderly, and low-income beneficiaries.
“There are over 600 volunteers who help provide Medicare counseling via HICAPs,” notes Weinstock. “It is only through these volunteers that the California program is successful.”
Medicare beneficiaries who are interested in volunteering or in receiving additional information about the services offered, finding a counselor or a SHIP office, can do so through the SHIPtalk link (the National SHIP Resource Center).
Outreach Important to Medicare Beneficiaries
Medicare beneficiaries, especially those who are new to the program, benefit from the services available to help them make the right decision when it comes to their Medicare coverage. Sometimes that means choosing original Medicare with a Medicare supplement insurance plan.
Now finding the right Medigap plan with the best benefits at the lowest price is as easy as pointing and clicking. For seniors who are looking for assistance in selecting the right Medicare supplement plan, the brokers at MedicareSupplementPlans.com can answer their questions.
Robert Dowiell of Visalia, Calif., understands full well the need to have someone knowledgeable when searching for the best Medicare supplement plan. “It’s traumatic turning 65 and entering an unknown area of new healthcare. So many questions…wondering if you asked the correct ones and were given all the correct facts.” But Robert found all the answers he needed at MedicareSupplementPlans.com and says that now he “has a clear path on how to control my health needs.”
The best Medicare Supplemental Insurance is one that provides full security to the people and hence is called Medigap; Medicare supplemental plans should be beneficial for the people.
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