Illinois Senior Health Insurance Program: Free Medicare Help (2026)

If a doctor's office told you, or a parent you help, to "call SHIP," it means the Illinois Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP), free statewide counseling for people on Medicare.1 The Illinois Department on Aging, which houses Illinois SHIP, says its insurance counseling is confidential and objective and serves people on Medicare and their families.1 The first step is one call to 1-800-252-8966, the number the Illinois Department on Aging lists for the Senior Health Insurance Program, to ask for the nearest Illinois SHIP office.2,1

In This Guide

• What Is the Illinois Senior Health Insurance Program?
• What Can an Illinois SHIP Counselor Help You With?
• How Do You Get an Illinois SHIP Appointment?
• How Do You Find an Illinois SHIP Site in Your County?
• Who Are Illinois SHIP Counselors, and How Are Local Sites Run?
• What Won't an Illinois SHIP Counselor Do?
• Can the Illinois Senior Health Insurance Program Help You Pay for Medicare?
• How Do You Report Medicare Fraud in Illinois?
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

What Is the Illinois Senior Health Insurance Program?

The Illinois Senior Health Insurance Program is Illinois's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). The Illinois Department on Aging's program page names Illinois's State Health Insurance Assistance Program the Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP) and describes it as a free statewide health insurance counseling service for Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers.1 The Department's Good Start Medicare fact sheet says Illinois SHIP is located within the Illinois Department on Aging.1

Medicare's own guide describes SHIPs the same way. Medicare's official "Medicare Appeals" guide (CMS Product No. 11525, April 2026) defines a SHIP as a state program that gets money from the federal government to give free local health insurance counseling to people with Medicare.3 The federal Administration for Community Living (ACL) says SHIP provides unbiased help to Medicare beneficiaries, their families and caregivers.1

Our Illinois Medicare plans and coverage guide gives Illinois SHIP one section alongside costs and plan choices. This page goes further into how Illinois SHIP works day to day. For how SHIPs operate across the country, see our guide to free Medicare counseling through your SHIP.

What Can an Illinois SHIP Counselor Help You With?

An Illinois SHIP counselor helps you understand your Medicare choices. The Illinois Department on Aging's program page says Illinois SHIP offers education on your choices for Medicare Parts A and B, Medicare Supplements, Medicare Advantage plans, "and much more."1 The Department's Good Start Medicare fact sheet lists four subjects Illinois SHIP counseling covers:1

• Medicare
• Medicare Supplement (Medigap) insurance
• Medicare Advantage Plans
• Long-term care insurance

That list is broader than choosing a plan once. A retiree weighing whether to keep a Medigap policy, or a family comparing long-term care insurance for a parent, can bring either question to Illinois SHIP, because the Good Start fact sheet names both Medicare supplement insurance and long-term care insurance.1 Nationally, ACL says that when you contact your local SHIP, a certified counselor will give you one-on-one guidance based on your unique situation and needs.1 Illinois's own Medigap rules are covered in our Illinois Medicare Supplement guide.

Can an Illinois SHIP counselor help with a bill or an appeal?

SHIP help reaches past enrollment into billing problems and appeals. ACL lists troubleshooting billing issues among the things SHIPs help with, and ACL's SHIP flyer says, "We can also assist you with navigating access to providers, correcting billing issues, and filing complaints and appeals."1 Medicare's official "Medicare Appeals" guide tells people with Medicare to call their SHIP for free, personalized health insurance counseling, including help with appeals.3 The appeal steps themselves, and the deadlines at each level, are in our guide to Medicare appeals.

How Do You Get an Illinois SHIP Appointment?

Here is the route the Illinois Department on Aging's Good Start Medicare fact sheet lays out.

If you ever lose the Illinois SHIP number, Medicare's "Medicare Appeals" guide says you can visit shiphelp.org or call 1-800-MEDICARE to get the phone number for the SHIP in your state.3

At a local Illinois SHIP site, scheduling is part of the coordinator's job. The Illinois Department on Aging's SHIP Coordinator job description lists scheduling counseling sessions between SHIP clients and counselors among a local SHIP coordinator's duties.1

How Do You Find an Illinois SHIP Site in Your County?

The Illinois Department on Aging keeps a county-by-county directory of local Illinois SHIP sites. The Department's Senior Health Insurance Program page says its SHIP section gives visitors information about sites in their area where they can get assistance applying for Medicare.1 The Department's SHIP web section includes a "Volunteers in Your Area by County" page, published as a Site Sponsor List marked "updated 8/13/26," that lists local site sponsors county by county.1

Read each county entry closely before you go. Some entries on the Illinois SHIP Site Sponsor List note language help, such as "(Spanish Available)" or "(Interpreter Services Available Upon Request)."1 Some entries on the Illinois SHIP Site Sponsor List note access limits, such as "(By Appointment Only-No Walk-Ins)," so call a listed Illinois SHIP site before you visit.1

The local site may not use the word "SHIP" on its door. ACL says SHIP is a national program with offices across the country and that, depending on your area, you may know your local SHIP by another name, but the support it provides is the same.1 If the county list feels hard to use, the Illinois SHIP number, 1-800-252-8966, is the simpler route to the nearest office.2

Who Are Illinois SHIP Counselors, and How Are Local Sites Run?

Illinois SHIP works through local units, each hosted by a sponsoring agency, and each unit's coordinator is the link back to the state. Under the direction of the SHIP Program Director, a local Illinois SHIP coordinator handles the unit's administrative side, including recruiting counselors and volunteers, publicizing SHIP services in the area, and serving as a liaison between the sponsoring agency and the Illinois Department on Aging, according to the Department's SHIP Coordinator job description.1

Background checks are part of how a local Illinois SHIP unit is run. A local Illinois SHIP coordinator agrees to a background check for themselves and all SHIP counselors, according to that same job description.1

Nationally, SHIP counselors come from the communities they serve. ACL says, of SHIPs nationally, that SHIP counselors are members of your local community who have been screened, trained and certified as Medicare experts, and that many SHIP counselors are volunteers.1

How can you volunteer with Illinois SHIP?

The Illinois Department on Aging's SHIP Coordinator job description makes recruiting counselors and volunteers part of a local SHIP coordinator's job, so your local Illinois SHIP site is the place to ask about volunteering.1 Find that site through the Department's county Site Sponsor List or by calling 1-800-252-8966.1,2 The conflict-of-interest rule in the next section applies to volunteers too.

What Won't an Illinois SHIP Counselor Do?

A SHIP volunteer won't promote a personal or business interest while counseling you, according to ACL's conflict-of-interest resource for SHIP and Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) programs.4 In practice, that keeps someone paid to sign people up for a particular plan out of the volunteer counselor's seat: ACL says no person who has a conflict of interest in connection with the work they will do at the SMP or SHIP, whether personal, philosophical or financial, may serve as a volunteer, and it names anyone who receives compensation for enrolling beneficiaries in a specific insurance plan or plans as one example of a person with an inherent conflict of interest.4

That rule has a federal statute behind it. Federal law at 42 U.S.C. 1395b-4 requires each state's SHIP grant plan to provide assurances that staff members, including volunteer staff members, of the health insurance counseling program have no conflict of interest in providing that counseling.4 ACL also says, of SHIPs nationally, that SHIP is not paid per enrollment.1

If you're deciding between an Illinois SHIP counselor and a licensed agent or broker, our comparison of SHIP counselors and Medicare brokers explains how each one is paid.

Can the Illinois Senior Health Insurance Program Help You Pay for Medicare?

Illinois SHIP can point you toward programs that lower Medicare costs. Nationally, ACL lists paying for Medicare and prescriptions among the things SHIP is there to help with.1 The Illinois Department on Aging's Good Start Medicare fact sheet, published in its SHIP web section, says some people on Medicare with low income and assets are eligible to receive benefits from Medicare Savings Programs, which help cover some Medicare out-of-pocket costs.1

The Illinois Department on Aging's Good Start Medicare fact sheet says that if your income and assets are low, you should ask your local Illinois Department of Human Services office whether you are eligible as a Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB), Specified Low Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) or Qualified Individual 1 (QI1).1 An Illinois SHIP counselor can talk through your situation before you make that call.

This guide doesn't list the income and asset limits for these programs. Illinois's limits and how to apply are in our guide to Illinois Medicare Savings Programs, and the national picture is in our guide to Medicare Savings Programs.

How Do You Report Medicare Fraud in Illinois?

The Illinois Department on Aging's SHIP web section includes a Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) page.1 The Department's SMP page says the Senior Medicare Patrol Program empowers consumers to prevent healthcare fraud.1 According to that page, Senior Medicare Patrol staff and volunteers help people with Medicare and Medicaid to:

• Protect themselves from Medicare and Medicaid fraud, waste and abuse
• Detect Medicare and Medicaid fraud, waste and abuse
• Report Medicare and Medicaid fraud, waste and abuse1

A charge on a Medicare statement that you don't recognize can start with either route. ACL lists troubleshooting billing issues among the things SHIPs help with, so an Illinois SHIP counselor can help you work through a confusing bill, and the Department's SMP page is the place to start if you suspect Medicare fraud.1 How Medicare scams work, and how to protect your Medicare number, is covered in our guide to Medicare fraud protection.

Learn More

Find personalized help booking a free Illinois SHIP Medicare counseling meeting at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.