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Since the pandemic lock down began a group of friends I have known since high school get together on Zoom.
We are all turning 75 this year. That means we have known each other, or some of us have known some of each other, for over 60 years.
Our weekly conversations cover a lot of ground. Yesterday we talked about the various versions of the Passover dish, Matzo brie, and the origins of the Hungarian language and squeezed in some other topics along the way.
Not everyone in the group is retired yet.
Some who are retired do volunteer work.
One member of the group is a volunteer in California for SHIP, the State Health Insurance Assistance Program.
SHIP was created several decades ago to help Medicare beneficiaries navigate Medicare and understand how it works to make informed decisions on their Medicare plans and to troubleshoot and provide any assistance needed.
My retired high school friend is one of the many advisors who are trained and certified to provide one-on-one counseling to new and existing Medicare beneficiaries about Medicare Part A (hospital insurance), Medicare Part B (doctor bills and home health care), Medicare Part C (private Medicare Advantage plans that are an alternative to Traditional Medicare Parts A and B), Medicare Part D (prescription drug plans), and Medicare Supplement or Medigap plans.
And, of course, my old high school friend is a Medicare beneficiary herself.
I’m not sure many of my fellow retirees are aware of the program.
They should be.
SHIP advisors won’t tell you which Medicare plan to get but they will help you figure out how to make that decision wisely.
They are quite different from Medicare brokers who are paid by health insurance companies to sell Medicare Advantage, Medigap, and Part D plans.
You can find your state’s SHIP by going to the locator.
In Illinois you can find our SHIP here.