State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)

SHIP provides free, confidential one-on-one health insurance counseling and information to Medicare-eligible persons and their families.

Winter Holiday Closure Schedule

All senior activity centers will be closed from Tuesday, December 24th through Wednesday, January 1st. They will reopen on Thursday, January 2nd, 2025. View Press Release

About

SHIP provides free, confidential, one-on-one counseling.

SHIP helps Medicare Beneficiaries understand:
  • Medicare coverage options
  • Medicare Advantage plans
  • Medicare Prescription (Part D) plans
  • Medicare Supplement options
  • Options for dealing with healthcare costs
  • Medicare billing issues
 

SMP (Senior Medicare Patrol)

SMP provides free, confidential, one-on-one counseling. SMP helps Medicare Beneficiaries to:
  • Detect healthcare fraud & abuse
  • Recognize healthcare waste
  • Detect Medicare billing errors
  • Identify deceptive healthcare practices
  • Recognize and avoid healthcare scams
  • Learn to protect their personal information
  • Report Medicare errors, fraud, or abuse

Options

Signing up for Medicare Parts A & B:  http://www.ssa.gov/medicare/apply.html

Applying for help paying Medicare Part B premiums to the attached pdf also available at this link: https://health.maryland.gov/mmcp/docs/QMB-Application-02-10-rev.pdf

Comparing Part D options:  https://www.medicare.gov/find-a-plan/questions/home.aspx

Applying for Federal Extra Help with the cost of Part D:  https://secure.ssa.gov/i1020/start

Apply for State help with the cost of Part D: http://marylandspdap.com/    

Maryland Health Connection: www.MarylandHealthConnection.gov

More Information