State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)
Free, unbiased one-on-one Medicare counselling in every state, funded federally and staffed by trained counsellors.
Best for
Anyone choosing, changing, or appealing Medicare coverage.
Why Kave includes this
SHIP counsellors are not paid commission and do not sell plans, which is precisely what separates them from the marketing calls that follow a 65th birthday. Kave treats SHIP as the default Medicare answer for that reason alone.
- Expected cost
- Free. Counsellors receive no commission from any insurer.
- Insurance requirement
- For people on or approaching Medicare.
- Who qualifies
- Available to Medicare beneficiaries, people approaching eligibility, and their families or caregivers.
- Where it is available
- Nationwide (United States)
- How you use it
- In person and Online or by phone
- Languages
- English and Spanish
Limitations Kave wants you to know about
- Counsellors advise; they cannot enrol you or make the decision for you.
- Appointment waits lengthen during the annual enrolment period.
Find your state's program on the site, then call it directly.
Verification
Compiled by Kave on July 1, 2026 and link-checked. Not yet independently verified. Kave assembled this from the organisation’s own published material and confirmed the links resolve. No reviewer has confirmed the eligibility details against the source, so check them on the official site before you rely on them.
- Compiled
- July 1, 2026 (28 days ago)
- Next scheduled review
- September 29, 2026
- Reviewed by
- Not yet reviewed
Sources used
- SHIP National Technical Assistance Center — read July 1, 2026
Kave quality score
90/100
Kave lists resources scoring 80 or above that also clear all four mandatory gates.
- Patient impact21.5/25
- Affordability or financial value20/20
- Transparency13.5/15
- Accessibility12.6/15
- Ease of use8.2/10
- Geographic reach4.8/5
- Institutional credibility4.8/5
- Privacy and data practices4.5/5
Geographic reach is deliberately worth only five points, so a strong local resource is not pushed out by a weak national one. Read the methodology.