Volunteers & Professionals Resource Center

The counseling tools offered by the Medicare Rights Center are available FREE of charge to all eligible Illinois volunteers and professionals that register with IllinoisBenefits.org.

Eligibility is limited to those individuals and agencies which counsel the populations served by the Illinois Department on Aging—people 60 years and older, people with disabilities, and their households—about the new Medicare prescription drug benefit and state prescription drug program, Illinois Cares Rx.

Medicare Interactive Counselor provides consumer-friendly answers to hundreds of questions about health care benefits, rights and options for people with Medicare, including the new Medicare prescription drug benefit and Extra Help—or go straight to Medicare Drug Coverage 101!

Medicare Interactive University is a dynamic online training and outreach tool, which equips you to learn the finer points of Medicare as well as educate consumers and colleagues using pre-assembled Powerpoint presentations, including presentations on the new Medicare prescription drug benefit and Extra Help.

Take advantage of live learning opportunities by finding out about and downloading handouts of the presentations offered by the Medicare Rights Center (MRC), Illinois Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP) and Illinois Department On Aging (IDOA). You can also come here to watch recordings of past seminars.

Here's an additional resource: BenefitsCheckUp allows you to complete a comprehensive screening which determines eligibility for medical and prescription drug assistance as well as heat and energy assistance, food stamps and tax credits.

If you are looking for RealBenefits, it is no longer involved in this project, but you can find their website by clicking here.