Kansas SHICK Medicare Help: Find Your County's Counselor (2026)

Kansas SHICK Medicare help comes through two doors: the statewide toll-free line, 1-800-860-5260, or the SHICK Coordinator listed for your county.1,2 Senior Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas (SHICK) is a free program where Kansans talk with trained community volunteers about Medicare and other insurance questions, according to the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS).1

In This Guide

• What Is Kansas SHICK, and Who Runs It?
• Find Your SHICK Coordinator by County
• What Happens in a One-on-One SHICK Session
• SHICK Forums and Presentations
• Kansas Decisions a SHICK Counselor Can Help With
• Does a SHICK Counselor Have Anything to Sell You?
• What to Bring to Your SHICK Appointment
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

What Is Kansas SHICK, and Who Runs It?

SHICK is Kansas's State Health Insurance Assistance Program, or SHIP. Medicare's "Medicare Appeals" guide 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.4 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) contacts directory lists SHICK at KDADS in Topeka, and KDADS publishes the program and its toll-free number.1

SHICK's counselors are trained community volunteers, and KDADS says they receive training on Medicare, Medicare Supplement Insurance, long-term care and other health insurance subjects that concern older Kansans.1 According to KDADS, SHICK has counselors throughout the state who can help people stay informed on changing conditions in health care insurance and cut through the confusion.2

You may also see the program under a slightly different name. The Kansas Insurance Department's Medicare Supplement Shopper's Guide lists it as "Senior Health Insurance Counselors of Kansas (SHICK)," with the same 800-860-5260 number KDADS gives, so it's the same program.3

Our Kansas Medicare plans and coverage guide covers premiums, plan types and enrollment across the state, and our guide to free Medicare counseling through your SHIP explains how these programs work in every state. This page stays with how SHICK reaches you in Kansas.

Find Your SHICK Coordinator by County

KDADS's SHICK "Locating Help" page tells Kansans to find the area or county they live in and lists SHICK Coordinator contacts for each of 11 areas.2 The table below follows that page. Use the county where the person on Medicare lives, which matters if you're calling from Wichita about a father in Hays.2

Not every coordinator sits at an Area Agency on Aging. In Area 2, KDADS lists Sedgwick County Extension Services alongside Central Plains Area Agency on Aging, and in Area 4 it lists the Senior Resource Center for Douglas County for Douglas County.2 If a number in the table doesn't reach a SHICK Coordinator, the statewide SHICK line at 1-800-860-5260 is the fallback.1

What Happens in a One-on-One SHICK Session

KDADS describes SHICK's one-on-one counseling as confidential sessions with trained counselors that focus on your specific information or problem.2 KDADS says these sessions can address issues such as:

• Understanding your health insurance coverage
• Working through the claims process
• Finding affordable prescription medications
• Getting referrals to the right agencies2

The decision stays yours. KDADS says individual decision-making and problem-solving are supported at all times in SHICK counseling.2

Choosing or changing a plan. Federal guidance says SHIP team members are trained and certified to help people obtain coverage through Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D and Medigap.5 Whether a SHIP counselor will actually submit an enrollment for you, rather than help you compare and decide, varies from one state program to another, so ask your SHICK counselor how it works when you call.6 Medicare Open Enrollment runs October 15 through December 7 each year, with changes taking effect January 1 of the following year.7 Our Medicare Open Enrollment guide explains what you can change in that window.

A denied claim or a confusing bill. Medicare's "Medicare Appeals" guide (April 2026) tells people with Medicare to call their SHIP for free, personalized health insurance counseling, including help with appeals.4 CMS also lists billing problems among the Medicare questions SHIPs can help with.5 The appeal levels and deadlines are in our guide to Medicare appeals.

SHICK Forums and Presentations

SHICK runs a second service alongside individual counseling. KDADS says SHICK's information and education work covers Medicare Parts A, B, C and D, Medicare supplement insurance, long-term care insurance, prescription drug assistance and Medicare through managed care plans.2 According to KDADS, that information reaches people through public forums, presentations to organizations and groups, displays, radio, television and printed materials.2

If you run a senior center program, a church group or a retiree club, ask the SHICK Coordinator for your area in the table above whether SHICK can present to your group. A forum is a good way to hear the basics before Open Enrollment, but bring questions about your own coverage to a one-on-one session instead.

Kansas Decisions a SHICK Counselor Can Help With

Some of the questions Kansans bring to SHICK come from rules that only apply in Kansas. Federal guidance says plan choices, how Medicare works with other insurance, and finding help paying for health care costs are all among the questions a SHIP can help with.5

If you have both KanCare and Medicare

If you have both Medicare and KanCare, Kansas Medicaid, you may be weighing a Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP). A KanCare update prepared for the Kansas Legislature in October 2024 says dual eligibles are not required to enroll in the same D-SNP plan as the one they are enrolled in for KanCare, and that D-SNP provider networks and coverage areas are not required to be statewide.8 That leaves a real choice, so bring the names of the D-SNPs you're weighing, along with your KanCare plan, to a SHICK session and compare the options offered where you live.

Help paying Medicare costs

Federal guidance says SHIP helps people with limited income apply for programs such as Medicaid, the Medicare Savings Programs and Extra Help.5 In Kansas, the state's Medicaid eligibility manual sorts the Medicare Savings Programs into tiers by countable income, measured as a share of the federal poverty level.9 The lowest tier is the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program. Above it sits Kansas's Low Income Medicare Beneficiary (LMB) program, in two parts: Regular LMB, Kansas's name for the federal Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) program, and Expanded LMB, Kansas's name for the Qualifying Individual (QI-1) program.9

Each tier also has a countable-resource test, and Expanded LMB is only for people who are not otherwise eligible for Medicaid.9

Both tests measure only the income and resources left after the amounts the rules disregard or exempt, so a monthly check or a savings total that looks too high doesn't settle the question on its own.9 That's why Social Security's guidance is that people whose income or resources look somewhat higher than the limits should still be encouraged to apply.9 Our guide to Kansas Medicare Savings Programs goes through each program in more detail.

Medigap questions, and when the Insurance Department takes over

Medicare's "Choosing a Medigap Policy" guide tells people to call their SHIP to make sure they qualify for a Medigap guaranteed issue right, and to call their State Insurance Department if they're denied Medigap coverage in one of those situations.3 In Kansas, the Insurance Department's shopper's guide also points to a free online tool at insurance.kansas.gov/consumers/medicare for estimated Medicare supplement premium rates, which is worth pulling up before a SHICK session about Medigap.3 Our Kansas Medicare Supplement guide covers when guaranteed issue rights apply.

Does a SHICK Counselor Have Anything to Sell You?

No. KDADS says SHICK counselors do not work for any insurance company.2 Federal law (42 U.S.C. 1395b-4) requires each state's SHIP grant plan to provide assurances that SHIP staff members, including volunteers, have no conflict of interest in providing counseling.10 The Administration for Community Living (ACL) gives, as one example of a person with an inherent conflict of interest, anyone who receives compensation for enrolling beneficiaries in a specific insurance plan.10 Our comparison of SHIP counselors and Medicare brokers explains how a broker is paid and when one may still make sense.

What to Bring to Your SHICK Appointment

A SHICK counselor can do far more with your paperwork in hand than with a description of it. Before the session, gather:

• Your Medicare card and any plan or KanCare member ID cards
• A list of every prescription, with the dose, if you're comparing drug plans
• Any claim, bill, denial letter or plan notice you have questions about
• Your monthly income and a rough total of savings, if you want help applying for a Medicare Savings Program

If you're comparing plans, you can also look at the Medicare Plan Finder before you meet. If a family member will join by phone, write your questions down so nothing gets missed.

Learn More

Find personalized help reaching a Kansas SHICK counselor near you 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.