Florida SHINE Program: Free Medicare Counseling for Seniors and Caregivers

What SHINE Is

SHINE — Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders — is Florida's free Medicare counseling program. It's part of the federal State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) network, administered locally through the Florida Department of Elder Affairs and the state's 11 Area Agencies on Aging.

Trained SHINE volunteers help seniors and their family caregivers navigate Medicare enrollment, compare Medicare Advantage and Medigap plans, review Part D prescription drug coverage, identify Medicare Savings Programs and Extra Help eligibility, and sort through the overlap between Medicare and Medicaid for dual-eligible beneficiaries.

The service is completely free. SHINE counselors are volunteers — they don't sell insurance, earn commissions, or represent any insurance company. That independence is the entire point: they have no financial incentive to steer your parent toward one plan over another.

What SHINE Helps With

Medicare Open Enrollment (October 15 – December 7): This is SHINE's busiest window. Counselors compare your parent's current Part D or Medicare Advantage plan against all available options in their zip code. Drug formularies change every year, and a plan that covered your parent's medications last year may have moved them to a higher cost-sharing tier or dropped them entirely.

Initial Medicare enrollment: For parents turning 65 or aging into Medicare from disability, SHINE walks through the enrollment timeline, the Part A and Part B signup process, and the Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage decision.

Medicare Savings Programs and Extra Help: Many Florida seniors qualify for programs that pay part or all of their Medicare premiums, deductibles, and copays — but never apply because they don't know the programs exist. SHINE counselors screen for Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB), Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB), and the Part D Low Income Subsidy (Extra Help/LIS).

Medicare and Medicaid overlap: For parents who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid, the benefit coordination is notoriously confusing. SHINE counselors help families understand which program pays first, how the Medicaid spend-down interacts with Medicare premiums, and what happens to Medicare Advantage enrollment when someone transitions to Medicaid long-term care.

How to Access SHINE

Call the Florida Elder Helpline at 1-800-963-5337 and ask for a SHINE counseling appointment. You can also find local SHINE sites at floridashine.org — many operate out of libraries, senior centers, and Area Agency on Aging offices.

SHINE counseling is available in-person, by phone, and at community events. During Medicare Open Enrollment, many libraries and senior centers host walk-in SHINE events where you can sit down with a counselor without an appointment.

If you're managing a parent's care from out of state, phone-based SHINE counseling works. Have your parent's Medicare number, current plan details, and medication list ready.

Why This Matters for Dementia Families

Families navigating a parent's dementia diagnosis often face a complex Medicare-to-Medicaid transition. A parent might currently be on a Medicare Advantage plan that covers some home health visits, but transitioning to Medicaid long-term care through the SMMC LTC program changes which providers are available and how services are authorized.

SHINE counselors won't handle the Medicaid application — that goes through the Department of Children and Families — but they can help you understand what Medicare continues to cover (skilled nursing, home health, hospice) alongside Medicaid-funded memory care or waiver services.

Our Florida Dementia Care Guide maps the full Medicare-to-Medicaid transition timeline and explains how the two programs coordinate for long-term dementia care.

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