Solid Ground is proud to partner with the Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner as the new King County sponsor for the Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA), a free, unbiased, and confidential counseling service that helps consumers understand their Medicare rights and options.

Solid Ground’s SHIBA volunteers are now available provide to this service to help people understand Medicare plan options – including Medigap (Medicare Supplement), Medicare Advantage, and prescription drug plans – as well as programs to help pay for Medicare, employment-related health benefits, fraud and abuse, and much more. Our volunteers are specially trained to answer questions, make referrals, help evaluate and compare health insurance policies, as well as make public presentations on various Medicare topics. They also help screen people for low-income qualification for programs that can save them money on Medicare coverage.

SHIBA services are…

• Completely FREE.
• Confidential: We keep your personal information safe and private.
• Accessible: Some of our volunteers and hotline operators speak languages other than English.
• Objective and unbiased: We don’t sell or endorse anything.

“Navigating the complications of Medicare can be difficult even for people who have worked inside the health care system. For people in marginalized and underserved communities, it can be almost impossible,” says Shalimar Gonzales, CEO of Solid Ground. “Our organization has a long history of leveraging the power of volunteerism to improve lives, so we’re thrilled to be able to partner with the Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner and dozens of dedicated volunteers to make sure everyone in King County is able to access the Medicare programs available to them.”

SHIBA is the newest program of Solid Ground’s Volunteer Services, which also operates the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) in partnership with AmeriCorps Seniors. In 2020, Solid Ground partnered with 566 RSVP volunteers and 447 community volunteers, who together logged more than 35,300 hours despite the challenges of the global pandemic.

• To get FREE, UNBIASED help from a SHIBA volunteer, call 206.753.4806 or 1.800.562.6900 or email shiba@solid-ground.org.
• Learn more about SHIBA on Solid Ground’s Health Care and Public Benefits webpage.
• Become a SHIBA Volunteer through Solid Ground.