MI-SHIP will provide free and impartial benefits counseling to Medicare beneficiaries, their families, and their caregivers. - Goal: Michigan’s State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) will offer personalized counseling, objective assistance, and Medicare education to eligible beneficiaries, creating a core theme of service excellence. Services extend to Medicare recipient families and caregivers to make informed, person-centered decisions about their care, programs, and benefit options. Through a comprehensive No Wrong Door (NWD) system, Michigan will leverage partnerships and funding from three programs: SHIP, Person-Centered Options Counseling (PCOC), and the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA). This allows Michigan to reach a greater number of eligible beneficiaries, low-income individuals, residents of rural areas, as well as those in historically marginalized communities. Objectives: (1) Consistently and confidentially provide accurate, objective, and comprehensive information and assistance; (2) Promote awareness, knowledge, and accessibility of the program within diverse communities; (3) Recruit, train, and retain a diverse, competent, and effective workforce at all administrative levels; (4) Promote adaptable and sustainable processes and activities to position the SHIP for growth in the programmatic landscape; and (5) Develop and strengthen the program structure and organization through viable policies, processes, and procedures that enable effective and efficient operations. Outcomes: A statewide increase in the knowledge of SHIP among counselors, clients, and the public; increased SHIP awareness among individuals with the greatest social and economic needs; improved SHIP sub-grantee satisfaction with SHIP policies and procedures; and increased number of Medicare eligible individuals served. Products: A summary of innovative best practices in how to connect with and serve hard-to-reach populations; promotional material samples; program quality assurance; risk management best practices; and model team member training, certification, and recertification practices.
