NEI3A's National Centers

Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Resource Center

The Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Resource Center was created in September 2003 with funding from the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL)/Administration on Aging (AoA), part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and has been operated by Hawkeye Valley Area Agency on Aging (HVAAA), now Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging (NEI3A), since its inception. The SMP Resource Center provides key services to ACL’s 54 SMP programs in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It serves as a central source of information, expertise, training, and technical assistance for SMP projects. These services support the SMP’s mission to empower and assist Medicare beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers to prevent, detect, and report health care fraud, errors, and abuse.

The SMP Resource Center promotes the SMP program nationally by providing educational resources on health care fraud, errors, and abuse. They also help the public locate and access their local SMP program. For more information, go to www.smpresource.org, call 1-877-808-2468, or email info@smpresource.org.

SHIP Technical Assistance Center

The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) Technical Assistance Center was created in autumn 2014 with funding from the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL). NEI3A’s SHIP Technical Assistance Center – also known as the SHIP TA Center – serves as a central source of information for and about the SHIPs nationally. SHIPs provide unbiased help to Medicare beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers. Whether you are new to Medicare, reviewing Medicare plan options, or have questions on how to use your Medicare, your SHIP can help. SHIPs operate in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. They are grant-funded projects of the federal U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and ACL. Visit www.shiphelp.org to find your SHIP.

The SHIP TA Center provides training, technical assistance, and promotional activities to support the national SHIP program and its 54 individual SHIP projects. Examples include monthly Medicare Minute beneficiary education materials, SHIP counselor certification and training tools, volunteer program management manuals, and web-based training for SHIP personnel. The SHIP TA Center helps the public understand, locate, and access SHIP services in their area through its national website (www.shiphelp.org), national toll-free number (877-839-2675), and info@shiphelp.org email address.