Learn → SHIP vs broker
SHIP counselor vs licensed Medicare broker
Both can help. They are not the same. The distinction is load-bearing — especially for Medigap, where the carrier-commission structure means a broker is incentivized to sell you a plan from their portfolio, not necessarily the plan with the lowest premium for your situation. Understanding the difference is the first move.
SHIP counselor (free)
SHIP stands for the State Health Insurance Assistance Program. SHIP volunteers are trained, federally-funded benefits counselors. Every state has a SHIP program. Counselors are not licensed insurance agents; they earn no commission. They cannot sell you a Medigap policy; they help you understand your options. SHIP counseling is free to the public.
What they help with: federal OEP timing; Medigap vs Medicare Advantage decisions; federal qualifying-event protections; state-specific GI rules; Part D LIS and Medicare Savings Programs; comparing carriers and prices in your zip code (without recommending one specifically).
Drawbacks:Cannot enroll you in a plan — they can prepare you to make the call yourself. Demand on SHIP programs varies by state; phone holds can be long during AEP and OEP seasons.
Licensed Medicare insurance broker
A licensed Medicare insurance broker is a state-licensed insurance agent who is compensated by carrier commission for each Medigap policy they sell. They may legitimately help you compare plans and enroll — but the carrier-commission structure means they have a financial interest in the plans they sell. A broker may sell only the plans of the carriers they have appointments with; this is often a subset of the plans available in your area. Per CMS Medicare Communications and Marketing Guidelines (42 CFR § 422.2260+), brokers must disclose the agent-may-sell-only-specific-plans condition.
What they help with: can enroll you in a Medigap plan from the carriers they represent; can answer detailed product questions; can navigate the application paperwork.
Drawbacks:commission incentive may favor specific plans over others. A broker who represents only one carrier cannot quote across the market. Always ask “which carriers do you represent?” up front.
How we surface this
On every page where MedigapWindow.com would surface a referral path, the SHIP counselor option appears more prominentlythan any compensated-broker option. This is intentional. The Medicare-broker industry has a scam-adjacent reputation in some quarters — the audience treats unsolicited “FREE Medicare quotes!” copy as a red flag, correctly. We earn trust by surfacing the federally-funded option first and treating compensated routing as a secondary, fully-disclosed, user-opted-in path.
v1 of this site does not yet route any compensated traffic to brokers. The site’s broker-referral surface ships in a placeholder mode: it announces the path is coming, names the disclosure framework, and points you to free SHIP counseling and medicare.gov for the comparison itself. The compensated broker referral path will only activate after the disclosure copy passes review against 42 CFR § 422.2260+ by our licensed Medicare broker editorial reviewer. See disclaimer →
CMS Medicare Communications and Marketing Guidelines — Third-Party Marketing Organization (TPMO) disclosure
Last verified:Source:42 CFR § 422.2260+ via ecfr.gov