Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would eliminate federal funding for State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs).
Since 1992, the SHIP network has provided critical information upon which people with Medicare rely to make informed decisions about their coverage options and enrollment decisions. As roughly 10,000 people a day become eligible for Medicare, more and more people with Medicare and their families depend on SHIPs. The SHIPs serve as the key national source of unbiased guidance concerning increasingly complicated choices regarding Medicare and other health insurance. Eliminating federal funding for SHIPs – effectively eliminating the SHIP program – would be a profound setback for Medicare beneficiaries who cannot obtain these critical services elsewhere.
The National Council on Aging (NCOA) has issued an Action Alert for individuals who wish to urge members of the House of Representatives to reject the Senate proposal and invest in SHIPs:
http://cqrcengage.com/ncoa/app/onestep-write-a-letter?0&engagementId=219993
Here is a link to and NCOA issue brief on SHIP funding: https://www.ncoa.org/resources/ship-funding-issue-brief-2016/.