North Dakota SHIP Medicare help comes from the North Dakota Insurance Department, and you reach a counselor at 1-888-575-6611. The North Dakota Insurance Department says its State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) is available to North Dakota residents at no cost, and that because its counselors are not affiliated with companies, the assistance is unbiased. If your mother's drug plan is changing next year or a Medicare bill makes no sense, North Dakota SHIP is a good first call.

In This Guide

Why North Dakota's Insurance Department Runs SHIP

In North Dakota, free Medicare counseling belongs to the state's insurance regulator. The North Dakota Insurance Department offers the State Health Insurance Assistance Program to help residents find the right coverage and answer Medicare questions. The Insurance Department is also the office that monitors and approves the rates Medicare Supplement (Medigap) companies charge in North Dakota. So a North Dakota SHIP call about a Medigap premium goes to a program run by the office that approves those rates.

The money comes from Washington. The Insurance Department says North Dakota SHIP receives funding from the Administration for Community Living (ACL). Volunteers help run it, too: the department says approximately 45 volunteers located across North Dakota help keep SHIP running every day.

Getting North Dakota SHIP Medicare Help by Phone This Fall

Medicare Open Enrollment runs from October 15 through December 7 each year, and changes you make then take effect January 1. Fall open enrollment is when a Medicare Part D drug plan can be switched, and the Insurance Department publishes a separate Part D open enrollment page for North Dakota SHIP's fall counseling.

To set up a North Dakota SHIP appointment, call 1-888-575-6611. Before the appointment, the department asks you to have three things in front of you:

  1. Your Medicare number
  2. Your Medicare online account login information
  3. The name of your current Part D plan

The department also encourages you to create a free online Medicare account if you don't have one yet, because it saves time during the appointment. If you're the adult child making the call for a parent, sit down together before the appointment and set up the account and gather the plan name, so the counselor can spend the time comparing plans instead of collecting details.

Plan for a busy season. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) reported in June 2026 that SHIP counselors nationally face capacity constraints as call volumes have risen, and that participants in its focus groups who had used a SHIP reported positive experiences. In practice, that means calling North Dakota SHIP in October rather than December.

Local Partners in Six North Dakota Towns

Not everyone wants to do this over the phone. The Insurance Department says it partners with local organizations to offer Part D open enrollment help in Williston, Bismarck, Fargo, Enderlin, Wahpeton and Valley City. Each partner site coordinates its own hours and process, and the department asks you to contact the site ahead of time for its hours and to check that it's accepting new clients.

Calling ahead matters for a second reason. The map of partner locations on the department's Part D page is titled "2024 Medicare Part D Partners," so confirm that a site is still taking part this year before anyone drives there. If no partner is close to you, the phone appointment reaches the same North Dakota SHIP counselors from anywhere in the state.

North Dakota SHIP Medicare Help With Bills, Claims and Appeals

Fall drug plans are only part of what North Dakota SHIP does. The Insurance Department says its trained counselors can assist with all Medicare issues, including Original Medicare, Medicare Part D, Medicare Advantage plans and long-term care insurance. On its Medicare page the department lists four kinds of help:

  • Paperwork, bills and statements. Working through the paperwork and statements you get after a hospital stay, doctor visit or other medical care.
  • Claims and appeals. Help with problems that come up when filing a claim, and help submitting appeals.
  • Options for coverage. In the department's words, help finding "the best plan for you, along with any additional coverage."
  • Plan ahead. Help with long-term care insurance issues and with understanding what long-term care insurance is.

The appeals help lines up with Medicare's own advice. Medicare's April 2026 guide "Medicare Appeals" tells people with Medicare to call their State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for free, personalized health insurance counseling, including help with appeals, and points them to shiphelp.org to find their state's number. If you're holding a denial notice, have it ready when you call North Dakota SHIP, and see our guide to appealing a Medicare denial for the levels and deadlines.

The long-term care insurance help is worth knowing about. If a parent is being offered a long-term care insurance policy, a North Dakota SHIP counselor can help explain what that kind of coverage is before anyone signs. Our guide to long-term care insurance covers how those policies work.

Help Paying: North Dakota's Medicare Savings Programs

North Dakota's Medicare Savings Programs help pay Medicare costs for people with limited income and assets, and they run through county social services offices. For 2026, North Dakota's asset limit for these programs is $9,950 for one person and $14,910 for a couple, and the Insurance Department's table allows an additional $1,500 in burial funds on top of each. The highest monthly income limit North Dakota prints for its Medicare Savings Programs is $1,816 for a single person and $2,455 for a couple, which matches the 2026 federal Qualifying Individual (QI) ceiling.

Below that ceiling sit the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) and Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) programs, and QMB provides Medicare coverage of Part A and Part B premiums and cost sharing. The federal income figures behind North Dakota's Medicare Savings Programs work as a screening threshold rather than a hard cutoff, so a North Dakotan whose income or assets sit near or a little above them should apply instead of assuming they won't qualify.

You can apply through your county social services office, or get help with the application from North Dakota SHIP at (888) 575-6611. The full income table by program is in our guide to North Dakota's Medicare Savings Programs, and the separate Part D drug-cost program, Extra Help, is explained in our guide to Extra Help.

A Licensed Agent or North Dakota SHIP?

The Insurance Department doesn't pretend SHIP is the only route. Its Part D open enrollment page lists a licensed agent as another option, saying that if you work with a trusted agent, the agent may be able to help you find a plan; it also points you to explore plans yourself on Medicare.gov. The difference is how each one is set up. Federal law requires every state's SHIP grant plan to assure that SHIP staff, including volunteers, have no conflict of interest in providing the counseling. The ACL conflict-of-interest guidance for SHIP gives anyone who receives compensation for enrolling people in a specific insurance plan as an example of a person with an inherent conflict.

The conflict-of-interest rule doesn't make an agent the wrong choice for everyone. Our comparison of SHIP counselors and Medicare brokers explains how each is paid and when an agent can make sense.

Frequently Asked Questions

I've seen the name SHIC. Is that North Dakota SHIP?

Yes. CMS's contacts directory still lists this North Dakota Insurance Department office as Senior Health Insurance Counseling (SHIC) while classing it as a State Health Insurance Assistance Program, at the same toll-free number, (888) 575-6611. The department's own Medicare page uses the name SHIP, and its program graphic reads "ND SHIP - State Health Insurance Assistance Program, a service of the North Dakota Insurance Department." SHIC and North Dakota SHIP are two names for one program.

Will a North Dakota SHIP counselor enroll me in the plan?

In its June 2026 report, MedPAC says some SHIP grantees help enroll beneficiaries in Medicare plans, so the practice isn't the same in every state. Ask North Dakota SHIP at 1-888-575-6611 what its counselors will do for you.

Can North Dakota SHIP help me if I'm under 65?

Medicare covers some people under 65, including people with a disability, End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) or ALS. The Insurance Department describes North Dakota SHIP as available to North Dakota residents and its counselors as able to assist with all Medicare issues, so call 1-888-575-6611 with your question.

How do I become a North Dakota SHIP volunteer?

The Insurance Department says it looks for volunteers who, among other qualities, can protect client confidentiality and have no conflict of interest, and it asks interested people to contact the department to learn more about becoming a volunteer SHIP counselor.

Learn More

MedicareMedicare Plans and Coverage in North DakotaMedicare in North Dakota for 2026: Parts A and B, Medicare Advantage, Part D, Medigap, free SHIP counseling, and the state's MSP financial help programs. MedicareFree Medicare Counseling: What SHIP Is and Whether It's Really UnbiasedSHIP gives free Medicare counseling. Federal law requires its counselors to have no conflict of interest, and ACL bars licensed insurance agents. Find yours. MedicareMedigap in North Dakota: Open Enrollment, Guaranteed Issue, and Buying a Medicare SupplementNorth Dakota Medicare Supplement plans from the rule text: apply before Part B starts, how prior coverage cuts a pre-existing wait, and 63-day guaranteed issue. MedicaidNorth Dakota Medicare Savings ProgramsNorth Dakota Medicare Savings Programs 2026: QMB, SLMB, and QI income limits, what each program pays, Part D Extra Help, and how to apply through ND HHS. MedicareSHIP Counselor vs. Medicare BrokerA SHIP counselor and a Medicare broker are both free to you, but one is paid by the government and one by the insurer. See who pays each and when to use which. MedicareMedicare Open Enrollment: What You Can Change This FallMedicare open enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, 2026, for 2027 coverage. What you can change depends on your coverage now, and doing nothing keeps it.

Find personalized help preparing for a North Dakota SHIP phone appointment about a drug plan, Medigap or Medicare cost question 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.

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