T-SHIP Celebrates 10 Years of Providing Coverage
By Senior Public Relations Specialist Tara Carey
Customer-owner Autumn Schumacker utlized the Tribally-Sponsored Health Insurance Program.
Health insurance coverage gives families options when it comes to their health and well-being.
Many medical needs can be met using Indian Health Service, but third-party health insurance coverage for you and your family can include added benefits that are otherwise an out-of-pocket expense. For 10 years, the Tribally-Sponsored Health Insurance Program, supported by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, has assisted individuals and families obtain health coverage when other options are not available to them.
Having health insurance benefits families and health care providers alike. Added benefits for individuals and families having third-party health insurance include financial coverage of glasses, hearing aids, and dental work. If medical transport is ever needed, ambulance, medevac, and out-of-state medical travel are other potential benefits of having third-party health insurance. When away from Tribal health facilities, having health insurance can be the difference between receiving care when needed and delaying care until returning to your Tribal health service area.
Tribal health care providers like Southcentral Foundation benefit from customer-owners using health insurance to help cover the costs of the high-quality services offered. Since IHS only covers roughly 50% of those costs, being able to bill third-party insurance to cover the balance is key in being able to secure funding for more programs that support health services such as:
- Health Education and Wellness Center
- Complementary Medicine
- Traditional Healing
- Same-day access to care
- Updated medical equipment
For the last 10 years, T-SHIP provided health coverage to over 3,000 Alaska Native and American Indian customer-owners when other coverages weren’t available to them. There is no expense to the customer-owner. If you qualify, ANTHC will pay the monthly insurance premium cost for T-SHIP.
With some individuals and families losing Medicaid coverage during the renewals, T-SHIP is another resource for customer-owners to qualify for health coverage to keep their health care options in place.
Customer-owner Autumn Schumacker first became aware of T-SHIP in 2016 after her family lost its employer-provided health insurance. Through T-SHIP, she and her children were able to gain access to a policy that provided the coverage they needed.
Schumaker shared, “Knowing that we had a policy to cover us during what was a very stressful time in my life meant the world to me. I am so grateful for this program. T-SHIP was instrumental in keeping us healthy.”
SCF’s Family Health Resources is available to assist with the third-party health insurance application processes, including T-SHIP. For application assistance, call FHR toll-free at (833) 729-4077.
T-SHIP celebrates its successes in providing health insurance for individuals and families who qualify, keeping families healthier and giving them more options in how, when, and where they access health care services.
For more information about T-SHIP, email SCFFHRTSHIP@southcentralfoundation.com, or call (907) 729-7225.
