Why Build a SHIP Volunteer Program?
When the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA, now called CMS) began its national SHIP network in 1991, it worked from program models developed by the North Carolina Department of Insurance and AARP. The models relied mainly on volunteers to provide counseling, outreach, and education services to Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers. Over time, some within the SHIP network questioned the need for volunteers. Some felt that a low level of demand for counseling services meant that staff could meet the need. Others worried that the demands of managing a volunteer cadre would unduly strain staff time and resources. Finally, some balked because of a concern that volunteers who make mistakes create a financial liability issue.
There are good reasons to develop programs that rely on volunteers as counselors, community educators, and program support staff. We describe some of those reasons below. Make this model a reality in your communities, and you will help to create a stronger, deeper SHIP network that has the potential to meet the many needs of beneficiaries and caregivers--your neighbors--in this time of great change. So, why should a local SHIP use volunteers?
The Need in the Community Is Greater than Staff can Handle Alone: There are more than 43 million Medicare beneficiaries nationwide. Some estimate that more than five million of them have a cognitive impairment or other disability that makes it difficult to navigate the health care system on their own. Especially in times of significant change, as when many managed care plans left the Medicare program, when Medicaid programs changed benefits and eligibility rules to meet budget shortfalls, and especially with Medicare Drug Coverage, the need for services often exceeds the capacity of staff alone to meet those needs.
Individual Clients Often Need More Time than Staff Can Give: Some of the problems that beneficiaries and caregivers bring to the SHIP are complicated. It often takes hours to unravel the issues, agree on a solution, and follow through. It may take hours, for example, to accompany a beneficiary to apply for benefits at the Medicaid office. Volunteer counselors can devote the time that it takes to resolve the matter and provide exceptional service.
Clients May Need Services That Are Outside the Expertise of Staff: It is hard to be an expert on everything related to Medicare, Medicaid, and health insurance for beneficiaries. Volunteers who bring mediation, advocacy, and research skills, or have experience within the health care system, can complement the work of staff. Some volunteers enjoy the chance to master a subject area like appeals, long-term care insurance, local retiree group health plans, or Medicare's many health plan choices.
Volunteers Enable SHIPs to be Flexible and Responsive: Beneficiary and caregiver needs for counseling services, or a reporter's desire to interview someone before deadline, sometimes arise at inconvenient times for paid staff. A caregiver, for example, may only be able to meet outside of regular business hours. Volunteers can respond when a staff person could not.
Volunteers Open Doors to the Community: A diverse group of volunteers can help your SHIP access under-served or difficult to reach segments of the population, including people of color, people with disabilities, and those whose first language is not English. Volunteers, through their other affiliations, also can link your SHIP to potential partners like the AARP, Silver-Haired Legislature, Long-term Care Ombudsman program, Urban League, places of worship, and others.
Volunteers Provide Continuity: In some communities, SHIP has many long-term volunteer counselors. Some have stuck with the program through several staff and co-sponsor changes. Their collective experience, when tapped, is a significant information resource for your agency or organization and the greater community.
Immunity Laws Offer Liability Protection for Volunteer Counselors: Federal law and several states' law generally protect volunteers from lawsuits when the volunteers act within the scope of their responsibility and in good faith. See, for example, the excerpt from the federal statute below.
The Federal Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 (42 USC sec. 14501, et. seq.) "[N]o volunteer of a nonprofit organization or governmental entity shall be liable for harm caused by an act or omission of the volunteer on behalf of the organization or entity if the volunteer was acting within the scope of the volunteer's responsibilities," "was properly certified," and "the harm was not caused by willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the individual harmed by the volunteer…."
