Oregon SHIBA (Senior Health Insurance Benefit Assistance)

SHIBA is a statewide network of trained volunteers that helps Medicare beneficiaries understand and make informed choices about their health insurance choices and benefits. The addition of a Medicare's Prescription Drug benefit in 2006, coupled with the aging of the Baby Boomers, creates unprecedented demand for SHIBA volunteer counselors and the volunteer coordinators who oversee them. Counselors help Medicare recipients compare and enroll in prescription drug coverage, decide how they want to get their Medicare benefits (fee-for-service or managed care, for example), read bills and file appeals and grievances.