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Coronavirus COVID-19 and Vaccine Information:
For questions about the COVID-10 Vaccine or registration process call 1-833-734-0965.
West Virginia's Coronavirus COVID-19 Hotline is 1-800-887-4304, for more about Coronavirus in West Virginia, please click here.
For more information about what steps Medicare has taken regarding Coronavirus, please click here.
Welcome to WV SHIP and SMP’s website. SHIP stands for State Health Insurance Assistance Program and its goal is to provide reliable and up-to-date information to Medicare beneficiaries and their families. SMP stands for Senior Medicare Patrol and its goal is to provide outreach and education about how to detect and report Medicare fraud. The purpose of this site is to offer information about Medicare to those individuals and families who are seeking answers. Additionally, it serves as an interactive resource for SHIP and SMP counselors from around the state to utilize for updates and training.
We are very proud of our nationally recognized SHIP services that are offered in West Virginia. Our site areas (About WV SHIP, SHIP Services, Find a SHIP Counselor, Publications, SHIP Partners, and Contact SHIP ) are designed to help you find what you are looking for quickly and easily. We hope that you will find our website easy to navigate and full of useful information. If you have trouble finding what you are looking for, however, please give us a call or contact us via e-mail.
Nationwide, 77 million Baby Boomers will become eligible for Medicare starting in the year 2011. The number of West Virginians age 65 and older will increase by 27,000 each year. WV SHIP is positioned to continue to provide dependable services as the number of beneficiaries increases and as changes are introduced in Medicare to meet the demands of an aging population. 
Please see the article in the November 26, 2015 edition of the Charleston Gazette-Mail regarding SHIP and other services offered by the Bureau of Senior Services.
NEW - 2021 West Virginia Senior Resource Guide, please click here to view and learn more about federal, state, and community resources available to help seniors.
2020 changes with Medicare Supplement/Medigap Plans!
Medicare changes to Medicare Supplement Plans:
Beginning January 1, 2020, there will be changes to what Medicare Supplement (also known as Medigap) plans can be sold to Medicare beneficiaries due to legislation passed in 2015 as part of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). If you are new to Medicare after January 1, 2020 or "newly eligible", meaning you did not turn 65 before January 1, 2020 or did not have Medicare due to disability or end-stage renal disease before January 1, 2020, these changes will impact you. "Newly eligible" individuals, those new to Medicare after January 1, 2020, will not be able to buy or be sold Supplement Plans C, F, or F High Deductible. This is the only change being made to Medicare Supplement plans except that there will be a Plan G High Deductible to replace Plan F High Deductible. Medicare Supplement Plans D and G are considered the comparable or subsitute plans to Plans C and F and will replace these plans in certain guaranteed issue situations for "newly eligible" beneficiaries.
For Medicare beneficiaries who are currently in Medicare Supplement Plans C, F, or F High Deductible, these plans will not be discontinued, and beneficiaries will continue to be covered beyond January 1, 2020. For individuals who were eligible for Medicare prior to January 1, 2020 either due to age, disability, or end-stage renal disease, they will still have the ability to purchase or be sold Plans C, F, or F High Deductible.
There is misleading information being shared about these changes such as some policyholders being told that their current Plan C, F, or F High Deductible will no longer be available after December 31, 2019 and will need to purchase new coverage – This in not true! Some policyholders are being told that premiums for coverage under Plans C, F, or F High Deductible will be increasing to such an extent that they should purchase other coverage. These statements would be considered FALSE or Misleading to cause policyholders to switch their coverage and is in clear violation of Medigap insurance laws.
If you would like more information, please click on this article which details the information released from Medicare. If you have more questions about these changes or general questions about Medicare Supplement coverage, please feel free to contact WV SHIP at 1-877-987-4463 or 304-558-3317.
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West Virginia Medicare Beneficiaries were mailed their New Medicare Cards between April and June 2018. If you did not receive your New Medicare Card, please contact WV SHIP/SMP or 1-800-Medicare!
Did you know that you can order a replacement Medicare card, change your address, or view your Social Security benefit letter online? Create or login to your My Social Security account to complete these tasks and more!
This project was supported, in part by grant number 90SAPG0081 and 90MPPG0012, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Administration for Community Living policy.