Medicare 2026

Terre Haute Medicare help: SHIP counseling and local agents

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Medicare choices can feel like a maze, especially when your mailbox fills up with glossy ads every fall. The good news: you don't have to sort it out alone, and you don't have to pay for help. Terre Haute residents have two solid options — a free counseling program run through the state, and licensed local agents who work with Medicare plans.

Here's how to tell them apart, and how to use each one wisely.

Start with SHIP: free, one-on-one, no sales pitch

Indiana's State Health Insurance Assistance Program — called SHIP — is a free counseling service funded by the federal government. SHIP counselors are trained volunteers and staff who don't sell insurance and don't earn commissions. That's what makes them "unbiased." Their only job is to help you understand your Medicare options.

In Terre Haute, SHIP counselors can help you:

• Compare Medicare Advantage and Original Medicare
• Walk through Part D drug plans using Medicare's Plan Finder
• Check whether you qualify for programs like Extra Help or the Medicare Savings Program
• Understand a bill, a denial, or an appeal
• Review your coverage during Annual Enrollment (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7)

To reach Indiana SHIP, call 1-800-452-4800 or visit medicare.in.gov. You can request a counselor near Vigo County, and appointments are often free by phone or in person.

Licensed agents: helpful, but paid by carriers

Licensed insurance agents can also help you enroll in a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan. Many are knowledgeable and genuinely helpful — but it's important to understand how they're paid.

Agents earn commissions from the insurance companies whose plans they sell. Some agents are "captive," meaning they only represent one carrier. Others are "independent" and represent several. Neither is wrong, but it's fair to ask before you sit down:

• Which carriers do you represent?
• Are there plans in my area you don't offer?
• How are you paid if I enroll?

A good agent will answer these questions plainly. If someone dodges them — or pressures you to decide on the spot — walk away.

What's actually available in the Terre Haute area

Terre Haute is in Vigo County, where 40 Medicare Advantage plans were offered for 2026, spread across 5 carriers that offered Medicare Advantage with drug coverage, according to CMS Plan Finder data. The 2027 lineup is detailed in each plan's Annual Notice of Change and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder. Stand-alone Part D drug plans are offered at the state level, so Indiana residents will also have Part D options to consider if they stay with Original Medicare.

With that many choices, it pays to compare — not just premiums, but the drug formulary, the provider network, and any extra benefits that matter to you.

Key program numbers worth knowing

Whichever kind of help you use, these program-level facts apply to everyone on Medicare:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once your drug spending hits that cap, you pay nothing for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• Part D deductible: up to $615 in 2026 and up to $700 in 2027 (plans can charge less).
• The old coverage gap (donut hole) is gone as of 2025. Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly installments — ask your plan about it.
• IRMAA surcharges for higher-income beneficiaries begin above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026.

Dates to circle

• Annual Enrollment Period: Oct. 15 – Dec. 7, 2026 (change your Advantage or Part D plan for 2027)
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: Jan. 1 – March 31 (if you're already in an MA plan, you get one switch)

A quick way to decide who to call first

If you want someone to explain Medicare and help you compare without steering you, start with SHIP. If you already know the plan type you want and you're ready to enroll, a licensed agent can walk you through paperwork. Many people use both — SHIP for the big picture, an agent for enrollment.