The State Health Insurance Assistance Program is a free counseling program provided by the Indiana Department of Insurance and the Administration for Community Living.

The program, aka SHIP, provides free and impartial information to help consumers make decisions regarding their Medicare options in an effort to help them be wise consumers and to get the most value for their Medicare dollars.

SHIP volunteers can provide free counseling services by phone, in person or virtually. Schedule an appointment by calling 800-452-4800 or 866-846-0139 TTY. A list of SHIP locations is available online at in.gov/ship/find-an-indiana-ship-location. The nearest location to Jackson County is at Wellconnect, 237 Washington St., Columbus.

Virtual appointments can be held using most types of video chat software or apps. If you are comfortable doing so, you can share documents you have questions about using your webcam, mobile phone or screen sharing. Many questions can be answered by telephone if you do not feel comfortable doing a virtual meeting.

SHIP offers volunteer opportunities for hundreds of Hoosiers. It provide services through many channels: One-on-one counseling, virtual counseling, seminars, local community training, public speaking, social media, publications, videos and more.

All volunteers have completed a four-day training course and are certified by the Indiana Department of Insurance.

Anyone interested in becoming a SHIP counselor can learn more at in.gov/ship/become-a-ship-volunteer.

If you have questions related to Medicare, call SHIP, visit medicare.in.gov or find the program on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.