San Diego's HICAP program offers free, unbiased Medicare counseling for seniors and caregivers navigating plan choices, appeals, and enrollment deadlines.
By Diane Whitfield, CSA · August 23, 2026
The Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program, known as HICAP, is California's federally funded Medicare counseling service. In San Diego County, HICAP is administered through the Aging & Independence Services network in partnership with the state Department of Aging, and every session is free, confidential, and unbiased.
That last word matters. Insurance brokers and plan representatives are paid by the companies whose products they sell, so their recommendations, even when well-intentioned, come from a limited menu. HICAP counselors are trained volunteers and staff who don't sell anything and aren't affiliated with any insurance carrier. Their only job is to lay out the options clearly so a senior or their family member can make an informed choice.
This is especially useful in San Diego, where dozens of Medicare Advantage plans compete for enrollment each fall, often with overlapping names and shifting provider networks from Sharp, Scripps, and UC San Diego Health. A HICAP counselor can walk through a specific person's doctors, medications, and budget rather than pointing to a generic "best plan" list.
HICAP counseling isn't limited to picking a plan during open enrollment. Common reasons San Diego families call include comparing Original Medicare plus a supplement against a Medicare Advantage plan, reviewing whether a current Part D drug plan still covers a new prescription at a reasonable cost, and understanding a Special Enrollment Period after a move, a retirement, or a loss of employer coverage.
Counselors also help with Medicare's appeals process, which trips up a lot of families. If a claim is denied, or a skilled nursing stay is cut short, or a Medicare Advantage plan refuses a service, there are specific appeal deadlines and forms. A HICAP counselor can explain the steps and timelines rather than a family discovering after the fact that the window closed.
For lower-income seniors, HICAP staff can also screen for programs that reduce Medicare costs directly: the Medicare Savings Programs, which can pay Part B premiums, and Extra Help, the federal subsidy that lowers Part D drug plan costs. These programs have their own income and asset limits, separate from Medi-Cal, and many eligible San Diego seniors never apply simply because no one told them the program existed.
San Diego County residents can reach HICAP through Aging & Independence Services at 1-800-434-0222, which is the same intake line AIS uses for most senior services, or through the statewide HICAP number at 1-800-434-0222 as well, since San Diego's local HICAP is folded into the county AIS system. Ask specifically for a HICAP counseling appointment, since the intake line handles many other programs too.
Appointments can typically be done by phone, and in-person sessions are available at select AIS-affiliated senior centers around the county for anyone who prefers to bring paperwork and go through it in person. Bring the current red, white, and blue Medicare card, any supplement or Part D plan information, and a list of current medications and prescribers.
The busiest stretch is Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 through December 7, when plan changes take effect the following January. Families dealing with a parent's coverage for the first time, or anyone who received a plan non-renewal notice, should call well before that window closes rather than waiting for December.
HICAP counselors are excellent for Medicare-specific decisions but don't provide legal advice, don't manage a person's finances, and don't coordinate in-home care. If a family is dealing with a more complex situation, like a parent who has both Medicare and Medi-Cal, disputed nursing home billing that HICAP's appeals guidance hasn't resolved, or needs someone to actively manage ongoing care logistics, it's worth pairing a HICAP session with an aging life care manager or elder law attorney.
For most straightforward questions, though, HICAP is the right first call: it's free, it's local, and the counselors see hundreds of San Diego Medicare cases a year, so they've usually already worked through whatever specific plan-network or billing snag a family is facing.
Free, no-pressure call. We work for families, not facilities.