Where to Get Help With Your Medicare Decision (Free and Paid Options)

Yes, and most people do not realize how much of it exists. Every state has a free, unbiased counseling program called SHIP (the State Health Insurance Assistance Program), reachable through shiphelp.org or 1-877-839-2675. The official Medicare helpline, 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), runs 24 hours a day, and Medicare.gov has a free Plan Finder that compares plans for your ZIP code and drugs. The Medicare Rights Center and your local Area Agency on Aging can help too. These are genuinely useful and cost nothing, so they are the right first stop.

SHIP stands for State Health Insurance Assistance Program. It is a federally funded, state-run program that offers free one-on-one Medicare counseling from people who do not sell insurance and earn no commissions, so the advice is unbiased. In some states it goes by a local name (in Minnesota, for example, it is the Senior LinkAge Line). You can find your local SHIP at shiphelp.org or by calling 1-877-839-2675. The main catch is capacity: during open enrollment, demand is heavy and wait times can be long.

A licensed agent or broker is usually free to you because insurers pay them a commission when you enroll. That makes them a real resource, but it also means two things to keep in mind: they can generally only sell the plans they are contracted with, so you may not see every option, and they are paid when you pick a plan. Agents are regulated, and commissions are capped, but if you want advice from someone with no stake in which plan you choose, an unbiased SHIP counselor or an independent service is a better fit.

The free options give you tools and guidance, but you still do the comparison yourself, or wait for a counselor who may be booked up during open enrollment. CareRoute Decision Support is a paid service ($99) for people who would rather have the legwork done for them: we check the plans available to you against your actual doctors and prescriptions, verify provider participation rather than trusting the directory, and hand you a clear side-by-side comparison, typically within a few business days. We are independent, do not sell insurance, and take no commissions. If the free route works for you, use it; we are for people who want it handled.

Two programs can save a lot of money and are widely underused. Extra Help (also called the Low Income Subsidy) lowers Part D drug costs and is applied for through the Social Security Administration at ssa.gov; as of 2024 the full subsidy reaches more people. Medicare Savings Programs, run through your state Medicaid office, can pay your Part B premium and sometimes your deductibles and copays. It is worth checking both even if you think you earn too much, since the limits are higher than many expect.

Long waits are common at peak times, so a few options help. You can still use Medicare.gov Plan Finder yourself at any hour, call 1-800-MEDICARE around the clock, or try your local Area Agency on Aging through the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116. If you would rather not wait on hold and want the comparison done for you against your own doctors and drugs, that is what CareRoute Decision Support is for.