Released: June 1, 2005

The director of the Louisiana Department of Insurance Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) has been elected by his peers to serve as one of eight members of the national State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) steering committee.  Alan Heumann will be the SHIP Steering Committee member for U.S. Health and Human Services Regions VI and VIII, representing the following states: Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

The SHIP Steering Committee represents the interests of all state insurance department senior health programs at the national level and with all appropriate national organizations including: the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the CMS Regional Offices, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and the National Association of State Units on Aging (NASUA).

Commissioner of Insurance Robert Wooley says Heumann’s election comes as no surprise to him. “Alan has been one of the most active senior health directors in the country.  I am pleased to see that he is being rewarded by his colleagues for a job well done,” Wooley says.

The purpose of the Louisiana Department of Insurance senior health program is to recruit and train counselors statewide to assist senior citizens and Medicare beneficiaries on a variety of issues like long-term care insurance, Medicare and Medicare Supplement (Medigap) and other types of health insurance. 

“Currently, the biggest task for all senior health programs nationwide is explaining the new Medicare Prescription Drug benefit and the availability of extra help to people with Medicare below certain income and resource levels,” adds Heumann.

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