A SHIP-only number has been established that will allow you to reach customer service representatives at 1-800-MEDICARE. That SHIP number is 1-888-647-6701.

Important: This dedicated phone number for calling Medicare is only for SHIP and SMP team members with CMS Unique IDs. It is not to be shared with the general public.

SHIP counselors with Unique IDs are eligible to use the SHIP number. The counselors with Unique IDs are uploaded from STARS to the CMS Unique ID database at 1-800-MEDICARE. It is important to note that these are not instantaneous uploads and there could be a delay of a few weeks between assigning a new Unique ID and having the system recognize that ID.

To use your CMS Unique ID with Medicare, follow these steps:

Call 1-888-647-6701. An automated voice will greet you and ask you to enter your Unique ID number.

Note: Using this phone number in conjunction with your CMS Unique ID gives you a priority position in 1-800-Medicare’s queue of callers. When call volumes are high, such as during Medicare’s fall Open Enrollment Period (OEP), wait times might still apply.

Enter your CMS Unique ID number. If you enter your CMS Unique ID incorrectly or enter an invalid CMS Unique ID, you will hear the regular menu of options presented to all callers who call 1-800-Medicare. If you enter your number correctly, you will be able to select from the following menu options:

• Press 1 for General Medicare issues (This includes Part D questions or plan enrollments)
• Press 2 for a doctor's service or hospital visit
• Press 3 for questions about medical supplies
• Press 4 for help using the new Plan Finder Tool

Note: CMS says the efficiency in this system relies on you selecting the appropriate option from this menu. It is designed to be very short and to-the-point. It is purposely not as long and descriptive as the menus for accessing CSRs through the public 1-800- MEDICARE number, as CMS assumes SHIP and SMP team members can use the shorthand menus described above. If you do not choose the appropriate menu option, you will not see increased efficiency from the system.

Be ready to provide your CMS Unique ID number to the Customer Service Representative (CSR) who answers and have pertinent beneficiary information ready. In order to verify that the CSR is speaking about the correct beneficiary, the CSR cannot speak to the CMS Unique ID user unless the user has at least two of the following pieces of information:

• Beneficiary name as it appears on the Medicare card
• Medicare number
• Medicare Part A and/or Part B effective dates
• Beneficiary date of birth
• Beneficiary address

SHICK uses this listserv to provide information updates about Medicare and related topics to interested individuals and organizations.Subscribers will receive informational updates. List members may send Medicare questions to the list. Questions of general interest will be posted with a reply from a list moderator. Replies to list messages will be routed to the list administrator for review.

You can do this in two ways. You can either:

• You will be automatically subscribed to the list once you have completed SHICK Counselor Training
• Send an e-mail to [email protected] and in the subject or the body of the message, put the word subscribe. This option will require that you confirm your subscription by replying to a mail that will be sent to the address you give. If you have problems with this, contact the list owner (e-mail is [email protected]).

Send an e-mail message to [email protected] with the following in the subject line or in the message body:

unsubscribe <yourlistpassword>

Do not include the "<>"s in the e-mail.

If you are not sending this e-mail from the address you are subscribed under, use this format:

unsubscribe <yourlistpassword> <subscriptionaddress>

Again, if you have problems with this, contact the list owner (e-mail is [email protected]).

Your password will be e-mailed to you in a reminder message about once a month.

Messages for the list at large should be sent by e-mail to [email protected]

Your message will be reviewed by the list moderator for relevance.

You can switch to digest mode. You will receive a few large e-mails each day which bundle the individual messages. Digests can be sent in plain text or MIME format.

• Send an e-mail to [email protected]  with the following in the subject line or in the message body:

  SET DIGEST ON <yourlistpassword>

  Do not include the "< >"s in the e-mail.

  To return to individual messages, use the command

  SET DIGEST OFF <yourlistpassword>

  Do not include the "< >"s in the e-mail.

E-mail from the list is tagged with [SHICK Listserv] in the Subject: line. You can sort all mail containing that string into a dedicated mail folder if your e-mail program supports this.

If your e-mail program doesn't support filtering, simply sorting your inbox on the Subject: will help, but as some mailers insert Re: before the list tag and others after (and some mailers use Sv: as a reply marker), this solution is not ideal.

In more sophisticated e-mail programs, you can set your mail program to sort on the header field To: or Reply-To:, both of which will be [email protected].

Send e-mail to [email protected] and put the word Help in either the subject or body of the e-mail.