Maine SHIP Medicare Help: Counseling, Bills and Part D Appeals (2026)

For Medicare help from Maine's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (Maine SHIP), call 877-Elders1 (1-877-353-3771) and choose your county, which connects you to your local Area Agency on Aging.1 Maine's health department says Maine SHIP counselors do more than explain Medicare: they help you follow up on medical bills, insurance claims and Medicare notices, and Maine SHIP services are free and confidential.1

In This Guide

• Who Runs Maine SHIP, and Who Can Use It?
• What Happens When You Call 877-Elders1
• Getting Help With a Bill, a Claim or a Medicare Notice
• When a Part D Plan Won't Cover a Drug
• Choosing a Plan or a Medigap Policy With Maine SHIP
• Help Paying Your Medicare Costs
• Is a Maine SHIP Counselor Trying to Sell You Something?
• What to Have Ready Before You Call
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

Who Runs Maine SHIP, and Who Can Use It?

Maine SHIP is Maine's State Health Insurance Assistance Program. 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.3 In Maine, the program is sponsored by three partners: the Maine DHHS Office of Aging and Disability Services, the state's five Area Agencies on Aging, and Legal Services for Maine Elders, Inc.1

Each partner has a different job. The Area Agencies on Aging are where most people meet a counselor, and the Office of Aging and Disability Services designated those five agencies, which also serve as Maine's Aging and Disability Resource Centers.4 Legal Services for Maine Elders is the partner that runs the special Medicare Part D Appeals Unit described below.1

Maine SHIP is not only for people over 65. Maine DHHS says Maine SHIP services are available to older people and to people who have Medicare because of a disability, so someone in their 50s on Medicare through Social Security disability can call too.1

Our Maine Medicare plans and coverage guide covers premiums and plan types across the state, and our guide to free Medicare counseling through your SHIP explains how these programs work nationally. This page is about getting help from Maine's program.

What Happens When You Call 877-Elders1

The number Maine DHHS gives for Maine SHIP, 1-877-353-3771, is the statewide Aging and Disability Resource Center line, not a line that answers only Medicare questions.1 Here is how a call usually goes:

If you're calling for a parent, choose the county where your parent lives, since the county prompt is what routes the call to a local agency.1

Calling isn't the only way in. Maine DHHS names a second route to the same local help: its Aging and Disability Resource Center webpage, which you can visit outside office hours to find your local agency.5

Getting Help With a Bill, a Claim or a Medicare Notice

This is where Maine SHIP goes further than many people expect. Maine DHHS lists four kinds of follow-up help a Maine SHIP counselor gives beyond answering coverage questions:1

• Answering questions and helping you follow up on concerns about medical bills, insurance claims and Medicare notices
• Talking with you about your rights and options for appeals and quality of care, in both Medicare and MaineCare
• Teaching you how to detect and report errors, abuse and fraud in Medicare and MaineCare
• Referring you to other local, state and federal agencies, and helping you connect with them

Federal guidance points the same way. 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.3 The steps and deadlines for each appeal level are in our guide to Medicare appeals.

If an adult child is handling the paperwork, it helps to make that official. Medicare's appeals guide says a person can appoint a representative to help with an appeal, such as a family member, friend, advocate, attorney or doctor, using the "Appointment of Representative" form (Form CMS-1696) or a written request with the required details.3 For a MaineCare denial rather than a Medicare one, our guide to Maine Medicaid appeals and fair hearings covers the state process.

When a Part D Plan Won't Cover a Drug

Maine has two sources of help for a refused prescription. Maine DHHS says Legal Services for Maine Elders, Inc. has a special Medicare Part D Appeals Unit to help Maine residents who are older and disabled with Medicare Part D, and that there is no cost for this help.1 Start with 877-Elders1 and explain that a drug plan refused a prescription.

Timing matters. Under federal rules, a Part D plan must give notice of its decision on a standard coverage request within 72 hours, and on an expedited (fast) request within 24 hours; a request is expedited when waiting could seriously jeopardize the enrollee's life, health or ability to regain maximum function.6 For a Medicare Part D exception request, the plan's 72-hour (standard) or 24-hour (expedited) clock doesn't start until the plan receives your prescriber's supporting statement, so ask the doctor's office to send it promptly.6

If you're enrolled in Maine's Low Cost Drugs for the Elderly or Disabled program (DEL), there is a second safety net written into state law. Under Maine's DEL law (22 M.R.S. §254-D), Maine DHHS must provide emergency drug coverage to a DEL enrollee when all three of these are true:2

• Your Part D plan doesn't cover a medically necessary drug the way you need it: the drug isn't on the plan's formulary, is listed as nonpreferred, or isn't covered in the dose or amount you need.
• The plan turned down your first prior authorization request.
• The drug is available through DEL or MaineCare.

Maine's DEL law also lets Maine DHHS file Part D exceptions and appeals on behalf of DEL enrollees, to the extent federal law permits and funds are available.2 Our DEL guide covers who qualifies.

Choosing a Plan or a Medigap Policy With Maine SHIP

Choosing coverage is the other half of a Maine SHIP counselor's job. Maine SHIP counselors answer questions about Medicare, Medicare Advantage, MaineCare, Medigap and other benefits that supplement Medicare, help you understand Medicare Part D drug coverage and your options in Maine, and give comparison information about Medicare supplement policies.1 Federal guidance adds that SHIP team members are trained and certified to help people obtain coverage, and lists plan choices among the questions a SHIP can help with.1

If you're turning 65, the first window that matters is your Initial Enrollment Period: 7 months that start 3 months before the month you turn 65, include that month, and end 3 months after it.7 Because SHIP team members are trained to help people obtain coverage, call Maine SHIP early in that window rather than waiting for the fall, so a counselor can walk you through Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Part D and Medigap while you still have months to decide.1

For people already on Medicare, Medicare Open Enrollment runs October 15 through December 7 each year, and changes you make then take effect January 1 of the following year.7 Calling in October leaves time for a second conversation before the December 7 deadline. Our Medicare Open Enrollment guide explains what you can change.

For Medigap, Maine gives buyers stronger-than-federal guaranteed-issue protections, administered by the Maine Bureau of Insurance. For example, every Medigap insurer in Maine must set at least one month each year when it accepts any applicant for its Plan A policy without medical underwriting, though not always at the standard price.8 The full set of rules is in our Maine Medicare Supplement guide. The Bureau's consumer guide to Medicare supplement insurance itself points readers to a local SHIP counselor at 877-Elders1.1

Help Paying Your Medicare Costs

The Medicare Savings Programs, the programs a Maine SHIP counselor can help you enroll in, pay the Part B premium, and in Maine the QMB level also pays Medicare coinsurance and deductibles. MaineCare's 2026 eligibility guidelines set the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) limit at $2,461 a month for one person and the Qualified Individual (QI) limit at $3,325 a month for one person, and Maine law bars an asset test for these programs.5 Our guide to Maine Medicare Savings Programs has the two-person figures, what each program pays and how to apply.

Is a Maine SHIP Counselor Trying to Sell You Something?

No. Maine DHHS says Maine SHIP counselors do not sell insurance or recommend policies.1 The choice of plan stays yours.

Federal law backs that up: 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.9 The Administration for Community Living's conflict-of-interest resource for SHIP programs names anyone who receives compensation for enrolling beneficiaries in a specific insurance plan as an example of a person with an inherent conflict of interest.9 Our comparison of SHIP counselors and Medicare brokers explains how a broker is paid and when one may still be a reasonable choice.

What to Have Ready Before You Call

A counselor can do much more with your paperwork in front of you than with a description of it. Gather:

• Your Medicare card, and any plan or MaineCare cards
• The notice, bill or denial letter you're asking about, with the date you received it
• A list of your prescriptions and doses, if a drug plan is involved
• Your monthly income, if you want help applying for a Medicare Savings Program

If you'll be calling on behalf of a parent, have your parent nearby, or the representative form already signed, so the counselor can talk about the specific account.

Learn More

Find personalized help getting free Maine SHIP support with a Medicare bill, a plan choice or a Part D denial 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.