FREE COMMUNITY RESOURCE

Helpful Numbers

Every phone number and website we give out in our free classes, in one place. Nothing here asks you for money, and nothing here asks you for your phone number.

Tap any number on a phone to dial it.

In an Emergency For Everyone For Veterans & Families

In an emergency

Two numbers, and they are for different things. Both are free, both work around the clock, and neither one will ask whether you can pay.

911

Police · Fire · Ambulance

Call 911 when the danger is physical and immediate — a medical emergency, a fire, a crime in progress, or any situation that needs police, firefighters or paramedics to come to you right now.

If you are having a heart attack or stroke, call 911. Do not drive yourself, and do not wait to find out whether the hospital is a VA hospital.

988

Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Call or text 988 for a mental health, suicide or substance use crisis — your own, or someone else's. You do not have to be suicidal to call. Loneliness, grief, fear and feeling overwhelmed all count.

Text any message to 988
Chat at 988lifeline.org
En español: call 988 and press 2, or text AYUDA to 988
Deaf or hard of hearing: videophone to 988, or dial 711 then 988

Veterans, service members, and the people who love them

Dial 988, then press 1

Veterans Crisis Line. Text 838255 · Chat at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat · TTY 1-800-799-4889
The older number, 1-800-273-8255 and press 1, still works.

"You don't have to be enrolled in VA benefits or health care to connect." The Veterans Crisis Line is for all veterans, no matter your discharge status — and family and friends can call about someone they are worried about.

For everyone

Veterans and non-veterans alike. These are the numbers from our Medicare, Web Scams and Budgeting classes.

Medicare and Social Security

MEDICARE

1-800-MEDICARE

1-800-633-4227 · TTY 1-877-486-2048 · medicare.gov

Coverage questions, claims, replacement cards, and reporting Medicare fraud. Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

1-800-772-1213

TTY 1-800-325-0778 · ssa.gov · Weekdays 8am–7pm

This is where you enroll in Medicare Part B — not Medicare. Also handles Extra Help with prescription drug costs.

SHIP — FREE, UNBIASED MEDICARE COUNSELING

shiphelp.org

Tennessee 1-877-801-0044 (TTY 1-800-848-0299)
Alabama 1-800-243-5463 · Texas 1-800-252-9240
National line 1-877-839-2675

State Health Insurance Assistance Program. Trained counselors, free, and they sell nothing at all. If you want a second opinion on anything you heard in one of our classes, this is where to get it.

MEDICARE RIGHTS CENTER

1-800-333-4114

medicareinteractive.org · Weekdays

An independent nonprofit — not a government agency. Good for payment denials, appeals, and complaints about care or billing.

HELP PAYING YOUR MEDICARE COSTS

Medicare Savings Programs are run by your state, not by Social Security. To apply, contact your state Medicaid agency or ask your SHIP counselor above to walk you through it. For Extra Help with drug costs, that one does go through Social Security at 1-800-772-1213.

Reporting a scam or fraud

You are not the only one, and you are not to blame. Millions of Americans are targeted every year, and thousands lose money every single day. These schemes are built by professional criminals and tested on tens of thousands of people until they work. They are designed to succeed against careful, intelligent, cautious adults — which is exactly why they do.

If a criminal deceived you, a crime was committed against you. You are the victim of that crime, and being a victim of a crime is not a failure of character or judgment. Nobody blames a homeowner for a burglary.

You have rights. You have the right to report it and be taken seriously. You have the right to free help — the hotlines below cost nothing and are staffed by people whose job is to assist you. You have the right to dispute fraudulent charges with your bank or card company. And you have the right to privacy about what happened.

Please report it even if you lost nothing, and especially if you feel ashamed. Shame is the part the criminals are counting on — it keeps people silent, and silence is what lets them keep going. Your report is what warns the next person.

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION — ANY SCAM

ReportFraud.ftc.gov

Or call 1-877-382-4357 (1-877-FTC-HELP)

The main front door for reporting any fraud, scam or bad business practice in the United States.

NATIONAL ELDER FRAUD HOTLINE

833-372-8311

U.S. Department of Justice · Weekdays 10am–6pm Eastern

Case managers who stay with you through the reporting process at the federal, state and local level. For anyone age 60 or older.

FBI — ANYTHING THAT HAPPENED ONLINE

ic3.gov

Internet Crime Complaint Center · Online reporting only

Report fast. When the FBI reaches a bank within hours, it can often freeze the money. After a weekend, usually not.

SENIOR MEDICARE PATROL — MEDICARE FRAUD

877-808-2468

smpresource.org · Weekdays 9am–5:30pm Eastern

Free local help reading your Medicare statements and spotting billing you never received.

IDENTITY THEFT

IdentityTheft.gov

Federal Trade Commission

Builds you a personal recovery plan, step by step, and generates the letters you need.

SOCIAL SECURITY SCAMS · MAIL CRIME

ssa.gov/scam

Postal Inspection Service 877-876-2455

Social Security will never call to threaten you. If you mailed cash, call the Postal Inspection Service — they can sometimes intercept the package.

If money has already gone — call within hours, not days

WESTERN UNION

800-448-1492

Ask them to recall the transfer.

MONEYGRAM

800-926-9400

Ask them to recall the transfer.

YOUR BANK, YOUR CARD, OR A GIFT CARD

Call the number on the back of your own card — never a number someone gave you over the phone. For a gift card, call the card company, ask for a refund, and keep the card and the receipt. Do not throw them away.

Protecting yourself before anything happens

FREEZE YOUR CREDIT — FREE BY FEDERAL LAW

Equifax 800-685-1111 · Experian 888-397-3742 · TransUnion 888-909-8872

You must do all three separately. It costs nothing, it does not affect your credit score, and it blocks someone from opening a new account in your name. You can lift it any time, also free.

NATIONAL DO NOT CALL REGISTRY

donotcall.gov

Or call 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236)

Free, and it never expires. You have to call from the phone you are registering. It will not stop criminals — but it stops the legitimate calls, which makes the remaining ones much easier to spot.

Help with everyday costs

ELDERCARE LOCATOR

1-800-677-1116

eldercare.acl.gov · You can also text this number

Connects you to your local Area Agency on Aging — rides, meals, in-home help, and someone who will sit with you and fill out forms.

BENEFITSCHECKUP

benefitscheckup.org

National Council on Aging · Free and confidential

One questionnaire finds every benefit program you may qualify for. No computer? The Eldercare Locator will do it with you.

LIHEAP — HELP WITH ENERGY BILLS

1-866-674-6327

National Energy Assistance Referral line

Pays part of your heating and cooling bill, plus crisis money if you have received a shutoff notice.

LIFELINE — PHONE AND INTERNET DISCOUNT

lifelinesupport.org

1-800-234-9473 · 7 days, 9am–9pm Eastern

A federal discount on phone or internet service. Usually automatic if you already have SNAP, Medicaid or SSI. You must recertify once a year or it stops.

For veterans and their families

From our class on Medicare, the VA, TRICARE and CHAMPVA. These four systems have four different front doors and four different phone numbers — and qualifying for one tells you nothing about the others.

Not sure which of these applies to you?

That is a normal thing not to know. VA health care, TRICARE, TRICARE For Life and CHAMPVA are separate programs with separate eligibility rules. Serving is not the same as qualifying, and a veteran can be eligible for one and not the others.

Call the numbers below and ask directly — or come to the free class and we will walk through it together.

VA health care

VA HEALTH BENEFITS HELP LINE

1-877-222-8387

1-877-222-VETS · va.gov · Weekdays 8am–8pm Eastern

Enrollment, your priority group, community care, and whether you qualify at all. If you do not know your priority group, they will tell you on the phone.

VA EMERGENCY CARE NOTIFICATION — 72 HOURS

844-724-7842

Put this one in your phone tonight

If you go to a non-VA emergency room, somebody has to tell the VA within 72 hours. The hospital should, but you or a family member can. Go to the nearest ER first — never delay care over a paperwork rule.

VA INCOME LIMITS

va.gov/health-care/income-limits

Income affects your priority group, and for some veterans it decides eligibility entirely. The limits depend on where you live and how many dependents you have.

VA PRESCRIPTIONS

The VA generally will only fill prescriptions written by a VA provider, or by a community provider the VA authorized in advance. A prescription from a doctor you found on your own usually cannot be filled at a VA pharmacy. Ask the help line above before you assume.

TRICARE and TRICARE For Life

TRICARE FOR LIFE — WPS GOVERNMENT SERVICES

1-866-773-0404

tricare.mil · U.S. and U.S. territories

Claims, coverage and eligibility questions. TRICARE For Life requires both Medicare Part A and Part B — drop Part B and TRICARE ends entirely, pharmacy included.

DEERS — THE ELIGIBILITY DATABASE

1-800-538-9552

TTY 1-866-363-2883 · milconnect.dmdc.osd.mil · idco.dmdc.osd.mil

If TRICARE ever tells you that you are not eligible, call here before you believe it. A death, marriage, divorce or move that was never recorded looks exactly like lost coverage. Surviving spouses are hit hardest, and it is often fixed in one phone call.

WHAT TO REPORT TO DEERS

Retirement or separation, Guard or Reserve activation, marriage, divorce, a birth or adoption, a move, becoming eligible for Medicare, and the death of a sponsor or family member. Adding or removing a family member has to be done in person at an ID card office, and only the sponsor can do it.

CHAMPVA — for family members of permanently and totally disabled veterans

CHAMPVA

1-800-733-8387

va.gov · Weekdays 8:05am–7:30pm Eastern

Covers the spouse or child of a veteran — not the veteran, who uses VA health care. If you are eligible for Medicare, CHAMPVA requires both Part A and Part B.

MEDS BY MAIL

CHAMPVA's mail-order pharmacy has no premium, no deductible and no copay. You cannot use it if you are enrolled in a Medicare Part D plan — so ask before you sign up for one. It is reversible if you already did.

Mental health support

VETERANS CRISIS LINE — 24 HOURS, EVERY DAY

Dial 988, then press 1

Text 838255 · VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat · TTY 1-800-799-4889

You do not have to be enrolled in VA health care to use it, and it does not matter what your discharge status is. Family and friends can call about someone they are worried about. The older number, 1-800-273-8255 and press 1, still works.

COACHING INTO CARE — FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

va.gov mental health

A free, confidential VA service for the family member who is worried about a veteran and does not know how to start the conversation.

This page is for educational purposes only. No plan-specific benefits or details are discussed.

Golden Guardian Insurance is not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, or any government agency. The organizations listed on this page are independent of Golden Guardian Insurance and are listed as a public service. We receive no payment of any kind for listing them.

Phone numbers, hours and web addresses were verified against official government sources at the time this page was published, but they do change. If a number does not work, please let us know at 844-534-4678 (TTY 711). Calling this number will direct you to a licensed insurance agent.