MNSHIP is a statewide service available in all 87 counties in Minnesota. We are largely a rural state with sporadic internet access. Minnesota has a Medicare population of more than 1,100,000. - The Minnesota Board on Aging (MBA) submits this grant application to serve as the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for Minnesota for the five-year grant period. The Minnesota Board on Aging has served as the SHIP for Minnesota since 1993. The Minnesota Board on Aging is the State Unit on Aging for Minnesota and provides the SHIP service in partnership with our six Area Agencies on Aging which cover all 87 counties of Minnesota to ensure the SHIP services are accessible and provided at the local level. Minnesota has another Area Agency on Aging, the American Indian Area Agency on Aging, which does not provide the SHIP services directly, but partners with the MNSHIP in activities intended to reach Native American Elders with Medicare matters. Beginning in January 2025, the Indian Area Agency on Aging will be comprised of all Minnesota tribes which will provide the SHIP with unprecedented opportunities to partner in all Medicare matters. We submit this State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) grant application in order to ensure Minnesota Medicare beneficiaries get the assistance they need to make good Medicare related decisions. The goal for Minnesota SHIP’s (MNSHIP) five-year base grant project has a goal of embracing the SHIP’s overall mission which is to empower, educate, and assist Minnesota’s Medicare-eligible individuals, their families and caregivers, though objective, unbiased outreach, counseling and education, and to make informed health insurance decisions that optimize access to care and benefits. Our purpose is to strengthen our capability to support a community-based local network of MNSHIP offices that provide personalized counseling, education and outreach to help achieve the overall MNSHIP program mission.
