About the Health Assistance Partnership
HAP's Mission
The Health Assistance Partnership (HAP) works with State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) on initiatives that develop the resources and capacity necessary to deliver education and personalized counseling and assistance to Medicare beneficiaries, so they can make informed health care decisions. HAP is a project of Families USA.
Our Vision
A SHIP network fully resourced to empower Medicare beneficiaries with the tools and information they need to secure affordable health coverage and access appropriate services in order to improve their health, economic well-being and quality of life.
How Can HAP Help?
HAP has developed an array of services provided to ensure that SHIPs and their aging network partners are more knowledgeable about and effective in informing, counseling, and assisting Medicare beneficiaries. HAP's services, which are available to SHIPs and their aging network partners nationwide, center around program development and Medicare education, which includes:
- Monthly interactive conference calls;
- Answers to requests for technical assistance through SHIPHelp@hapnetwork.org;
- Tools to assist in volunteer program development;
- Trainings on program development and Medicare education topics;
- Monthly electronic newsletters;
- Efforts to increase SHIP funding and highlight systemic issues to CMS, Congress and the media;
- Collaborative State Projects, an intensive partnership between HAP and a SHIP with the goal of developing innovative and sustainable practices or models based on proven interventions that can be shared and replicated in other SHIP programs.
- SHIPTools, a customizable web-based management system that engages SHIP staff and volunteers across a state. By providing access to real-time information, SHIPTools enables users to get the big picture and a snapshot of ongoing SHIP activities.
