Q: I am very confused about decisions I need to make regarding my Medicare-related health insurance. Where can I find someone to help me figure it out?

A: You’re in luck, thanks to a program called Senior Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas, or SHICK.

This program, which is offered through the Kansas Department on Aging, offers an opportunity to speak with real people, not telephone machines. It gives you access to publications such as the “Kansas Medicare Supplemental Shopper’s Guide” and the “Kansas Long-Term Care Shopper’s Guide.” It offers help with the Medicare-Approved Drug Discount Cards and also with pharmacy assistance programs that enable some Medicare beneficiaries with low incomes to receive needed medications at little or no cost. And it promises helpful advice on how to save on your health care needs.

SHICK’s services are free and confidential. Here are some common questions SHICK volunteers can answer:

• How does Medicare work? What does Part A pay and what does Part B pay?
• I received a medical bill. Should I pay it or will Medicare pay it for me?
• Which Medicare supplemental insurance is best for me?
• Do I need long-term care insurance? Do I need carrier insurance or hospital indemnity insurance?
• How does Medicare hospice work?
• Is help available to me if I have a limited income and I find purchasing health insurance and prescription drugs a hardship?
• Whom do I call for prescription drug help for a veteran?

If you are a Medicare recipient of any age, or are about to become eligible for Medicare, trained SHICK volunteer counselors are available to meet with you to review your health insurance questions and problems.

Kansas has been divided into 16 SHICK areas. Call toll-free (800) 860-5260 to be connected with someone in your area who will schedule a confidential counseling session with a trained, unbiased counselor.

SHICK is funded by a grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Washington, D.C.