Insurance Problems? SHICK Can Help
By Betty Gibb
Kansas Senior Press Service
A project of the KU Center on Aging
Insurance Problems? SHICK Can Help! Senior Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas (SHICK) is a free program offering older Kansans an opportunity to talk with trained, community volunteers and get answers to questions about Medicare and other insurance issues.
(Medicare, Insurance)
Q. I’m turning 65 this summer and will be going on Medicare. You wouldn’t believe the information that has been pouring in through my mailbox in the last month. I guess all of the insurance companies have my number. I’ve tried to read a little about my options, but I find the materials very confusing. I don’t really want to talk with an insurance agent, but I definitely need help.
A. You do, and so do many people facing this complex situation. Fortunately for Kansans there is help available.
Senior Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas (SHICK) is a free program offering older Kansans an opportunity to talk with trained, community volunteers and get answers to questions about Medicare and other insurance issues. SHICK provides you with many resources that will help you with your struggle through the Medicare maze. These volunteers know their stuff. They’ve been well trained and then kept up to date. Probably as important as their training is the fact that they are not trying to sell you something.
They will help you understand the pros and cons of the many choices available, but the decision will be yours. Also, the service is free of charge—what a deal! The role of the volunteer counselor is to help people stay informed on changing conditions in health care insurance and to cut through the confusion. They’ve been trained on Medicare, Medicare Supplement Insurance, Long-Term Care and other health insurance subjects that concern older Kansans.
SHICK has a web site where you can get more information about the program: http://www.agingkansas.org/shick/shick_index.html. You can also call the 800 number to find a counselor in your area: 1-800-860-2484.
In addition to SHICK, the Kansas Insurance Commissioner’s office has a helpful guide that will allow you to compare what various companies are offering. The SHICK counselors use
this guide in their work as well. You can obtain a copy of Medicare Supplemental Insurance Shopper’s Guide by calling the Insurance Commissioner’s office at 1-800-432-1484. The guide is also available online: www.KSinsurance.org/consumers/publication/03medicareguide/Publish/index/html.
Site Map
A-Z Index
Human Services
11811 S. Sunset Drive, Suite #1300
Olathe, KS 66061-7056
(913) 715-8800 : voice
(913) 715-8825 : fax
(913) 894-8822 : TTY