HICAP-Health Insurance Counseling Advocacy Program

Met with a pleasant and knowledgeable HICAP counselor. After a thorough assessment of my particular needs, she was able to provide the information I needed to choose a new plan and save about $ 400/​yr. in plan costs. Thanks so much to you volunteers. You are terrific!

Thank goodness for HICAP! They were my heroes! My husband and I recently began to care for my mother-in-law’s medical needs after my father-​in-​law past away in 2013. She lives in a assisted living care home and is located in the Memory Care Unit due to her Alzheimers. Medicare just dropped her and stopped paying all her medical bills due to the fact that she had another «primary insurance company» and needless to say the bills were piling up. My husband is his mother’s Power of Attorney so Medicare would only speak with him and he travels out of the state Monday thru Friday every week. He would be on the phone waiting for hours to speak to a Medicare representative only to get a different answer each time and never a solution. A year later I learned about HICAP and I left a message about our crisis. My mother in law’s mental health had taken a turn for the worse and we spent $ 20,000 in one month on extra care out of pocket. We were desperate for help at this point. Hal from HICAP returned my call the NEXT day after hearing my desperate message for help. In one hour he had the certificate I needed to clear up the entire misunderstanding and prove my Mother-​in-​law did not in fact have another insurance provider. Then an angel named John called me and made an appointment that same day to come to my home and sit with me to explain the Medicare system and insurance and gave me educated information that would have taken me months to find and endless hours on the phone had I attempted it on my own. He even helped me enroll my mother in a program that I chose after listening to all his information. John took his time and explained everything to me very well. He assured me that I could call anytime if I had any other questions or concerns and they would be able to look up my case and handle it immediately. He stayed two hours with me as I enrolled my mother in law to make sure the process went smooth for me. All I provided was a glass of lemonade and an air-​conditioned home since it was 100 degrees outside. I had such a wonderful experience! Thank you for volunteering your time to help educate people. This is a wonderful organization full of knowledge. Words can not express my level of gratitude.

The Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) is a program within Legal Assistance for Seniors. It is a volunteer-​based program helping people and their families on Medicare navigate the health insurance maze. HICAP helps Medicare beneficiaries of any age make informed choices and provides advocacy when their health care benefits and rights are threatened or denied. Individual appointments and group presentations are available throughout Alameda county.