Supplemental Health Insurance Program (SHIP)
Irene Lospenuso, Director
The Supplemental Health Insurance Program (SHIP) is a unique package of benefits developed by the UFT's Retired Teachers Chapter exclusively for its members. It is a supplement to the coverage available from regular health insurance benefits and is activated only after those providers have paid their benefits. Its wide-ranging supplemental benefits include ambulances, hearing aids, customized orthopedic shoes, surgical stockings and private-duty nursing.
Retirees must enroll in SHIP within the first year of retirement.
For a modest yearly fee of $120, SHIP will supplement certain payments provided by your New York City health coverage up to a maximum lifetime benefit of $100,000/$10,000 for pre-existing conditions.
SHIP does not require a medical examination for enrollment.
SHIP is a supplemental program and, as a separate entity, requires those who enroll to apply for benefits only after primary payments have been satisfied and to notify SHIP separately of any changes such as a new address, a divorce or a death.
Additional information is available by calling the SHIP office at 212-228-9060 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Helpful links
- SHIP booklet [effective Jan. 2012]
- SHIP benefits [effective Jan. 2018]
- SHIP claim form [effective Jan. 2018]: You may use old SHIP forms if you have them. Please read the updated instruction page before filling in claim form.
- How to file a SHIP claim form
- Notice to all Medicare eligible SHIP members
- HIPAA Privacy Act form
- SHIP premium notices for those not on automatic deduction