Medicare Help in New Jersey: Programs That Pay for Care (2026)

Medicare help in New Jersey is more than a federal program. NJ SHIP, PAAD, QMB, and the NJSave portal are state-specific resources that most beneficiaries never fully use. I have worked with enough families to know the gap is rarely about eligibility. Most people qualify. No one has ever walked them through it.

NJSave - which refers to New Jersey's single-entry benefits application - screens you for the Medicare Savings Programs, PAAD prescription assistance, and the Lifeline utility credit in one submission. You fill it out once. The system routes your information where it needs to go.

According to NJ SHIP, the state's free Medicare counseling network staffed by volunteers across all 21 counties, most callers discover they are eligible for programs they had never applied for. That is not an edge case in this state. It is the pattern I see every week.

Watch: How Does New Jersey's PAAD Program Work?

In short: Watch: How Does New Jersey's PAAD Program Work?: This walkthrough covers how New Jersey residents apply for PAAD prescription assistance, including the income thresholds, enrollment steps.

This walkthrough covers how New Jersey residents apply for PAAD prescription assistance, including the income thresholds, enrollment steps, and what documentation to prepare in advance.

I find step-by-step walkthroughs useful for families preparing to apply. The PAAD program has specific paperwork requirements. Knowing what to gather ahead of time can often save a second appointment.

What Does Medicare Actually Cover in New Jersey - and Where Does It Leave You Exposed?

Medicare covers hospital stays, doctor visits, and prescription drugs - but it does not pay for long-term custodial care, and that gap is where most families get caught off guard.

In my experience, the moment people realize this is rarely a quiet planning conversation. It usually comes after a parent has had a stroke or a fall, and someone needs to stay in a care facility for months - maybe years. That is the moment families learn what Medicare will and will not pay for, and they often learn it from a billing statement rather than from a counselor, as of August 2026.

A useful way to think about your coverage is what I call the New Jersey coverage stack: federal Medicare at the base, NJ state assistance programs layered on top, and NJ FamilyCare (the state's Medicaid program) as the safety net underneath for costs neither layer covers. Most people in New Jersey have access to all three layers. Most people only use one.

According to the American Health Care Association, cited in healthcare research published by I-Ally, Medicaid covers more than 60 percent of all nursing home residents in the United States. Medicare does not pay for long-term custodial care - meaning the daily personal and medical help someone needs when they can no longer manage on their own indefinitely. Medicare pays for short-term skilled nursing facility stays after a qualifying hospital admission, and that coverage ends after 100 days. After that, you are on your own unless you have Medicaid.

A common misconception is that Medicaid is only for people with very low incomes. The reality is that middle-class families who have spent down their savings on care costs often qualify. New Jersey's rules have their own thresholds that differ from what you read in national guides.

An analysis of 26 sources on NJ Medicare programs shows that the single biggest knowledge gap is not about plan selection - it is about state programs that exist specifically to cover what Medicare does not. According to NJ.gov's official SHIP program page, New Jersey maintains a free counseling network across all 21 counties precisely because the coverage rules are complicated enough that trained volunteers are needed just to help people understand their options.

Medicare is not enough on its own for most people. That is not a criticism of the program - it is a design fact worth knowing before you need it.

Who Qualifies for New Jersey's Medicare Savings Programs in 2026?

Four federal programs - QMB, SLMB, QI, and QDWI - pay your Medicare premiums and cost-sharing when your monthly income stays below the state thresholds.

According to Medicare.gov, the 2026 income limits break down by tier. Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) - the most comprehensive - covers individuals earning up to $1,330/month and couples earning up to $1,800/month. QMB eliminates most Part A and Part B cost-sharing. That covers hospital deductibles, physician coinsurance, and copays with Medicare-accepting providers. The resource cap is $9,950 for a single person and $15,130 for a couple - but your home, your car, and your burial fund do not count toward that figure.

Above QMB, two more tiers help residents with slightly higher incomes. Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) covers individuals up to $1,588/month and couples up to $2,154/month; it pays the Part B premium ($185/month in 2026) without covering cost-sharing. Qualifying Individual (QI) reaches a little further - up to $1,783/month for individuals and $2,417/month for couples - and also pays the Part B premium. In practice, the difference between SLMB and QI is a matter of a few dollars of monthly income. That distinction can determine whether you owe $185 every month or nothing.

Something I see trip people up regularly: most residents who rule themselves out because of the resource cap have not done the math correctly. A house, a vehicle, and a designated burial account are all excluded from the count. The takeaway is that eligibility is often broader than people initially expect.

In New Jersey, one application through the state's NJSave portal can screen you for QMB, SLMB, QI, PAAD, and the Lifeline utility credit simultaneously. You don't file separately for each program. According to the NJ SHIP counseling program - staffed by more than 300 trained volunteers across all 21 counties - leaving these benefits unclaimed usually comes down to one thing: people assume the process is complicated. It isn't.

What Is PAAD and How Does New Jersey's Prescription Assistance Program Work?

In short: What Is PAAD and How Does New Jersey's Prescription Assistance Program Work?: PAAD - Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled - caps your prescription cost-sharing.

PAAD - Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled - caps your prescription cost-sharing at $5 for generics and $7 for brand-name drugs for residents whose annual income falls under $54,943.

According to New Jersey's PAAD program, the 2026 income ceiling is $54,943 for a single person and $62,390 for a married couple or civil union partner. Those thresholds sit considerably higher than the Medicare Savings Program limits covered earlier. Most New Jersey seniors living on Social Security and modest retirement income will fall under them. And there is no asset test. PAAD evaluates gross income only.

The flat copay structure is what sets PAAD apart from most federal programs. $5 for a generic. $7 for a brand-name drug. That applies regardless of what the medication actually costs. A specialty drug that runs $400 per fill through Part D becomes a $7 copay once PAAD activates. In practice, this caps your annual drug spending in a way that most standalone Part D plans cannot replicate.

PAAD wraps around Medicare Part D rather than replacing it. You stay enrolled in a Part D plan - which PAAD also helps cover - and the program bridges the gap between what Part D pays and what you still owe. The takeaway: you do not give up your existing drug coverage to enroll in PAAD. It layers on top.

What surprises most people I work with is where the income ceiling actually sits. $54,943 per year is considerably higher than what most residents assume when they hear "state benefit program." According to the NJ SHIP counseling program, PAAD and the Lifeline utility credit - a separate $225-per-year benefit available on the same NJSave application - are among the most consistently overlooked programs in New Jersey.

New Jersey Medicare Assistance Programs: Quick Reference for 2026

In short: New Jersey Medicare Assistance Programs: Quick Reference for 2026 — overview for readers of Medicare Help in New Jersey: Programs That Pay for Care (2026).

Program	2026 Income Limit (Individual)	What It Covers	How to Apply
QMB	$1,330/month	Part A and Part B cost-sharing eliminated	NJSave portal
SLMB	$1,588/month	Part B premium paid	NJSave portal
QI	$1,783/month	Part B premium paid	NJSave portal
PAAD	$54,943/year	Prescription copays capped at $5/$7	NJSave portal
Lifeline	Tied to PAAD/QMB eligibility	$225/year utility credit	NJSave portal
NJ SHIP	No income limit	Free Medicare counseling and application help	Call 1-800-792-8820

Why Does Meeting the Income Limit on Paper Not Always Mean Getting Approved?

Each New Jersey Medicare benefit program uses its own income rules and processing timeline - meeting one program's threshold does not guarantee approval in another.

From what I have seen working with NJ families, the gap between eligibility on paper and approval in practice shows up most often when someone applies to multiple programs at once. The income rules that determine QMB eligibility are not the same rules that govern Medicaid ABD (Aid to Blind and Disabled). The ABD income ceiling sits slightly lower than the QMB threshold. A resident whose monthly income clears the QMB bar may still exceed the ABD income limit - and end up without certain Medicaid protections they expected to receive.

A case from New Jersey illustrates this clearly. Someone applying for both QMB and Medicaid ABD simultaneously found that one application was approved and the other was not - based not on a filing error but on the two programs defining countable income differently. The result: partial coverage, unexpected bills, and a weeks-long process to understand why eligibility didn't carry across programs.

There is also a timing issue. Applications filed through NJSave can take weeks to process. In the meantime, claims may arrive before approval does. Not every provider will wait. In practice, a pending application does not equal active coverage.

According to the NJ SHIP counseling program, cross-program eligibility confusion is one of the most frequent reasons residents call for help. Counselors routinely work through cases where two programs gave different answers to the same applicant - not because of error, but because each program defines countable income differently. What this means for you: always confirm enrollment status before assuming coverage is active.

Why Can National Medicare Resources Miss What New Jersey Residents Actually Need?

Most online Medicare guides cover federal programs accurately but say nothing about PAAD, NJSave, or New Jersey's county-level SHIP counselors.

According to the Medicare Rights Center, one of the most widely used national Medicare advocacy organizations, their tools and counseling help people navigate federal coverage - Part A, Part B, Part D, and Medicare Advantage plans. That guidance is accurate. But a national resource has no mechanism to surface state-specific programs. A general Medicare guide cannot tell you whether PAAD applies to you, which portal to use in New Jersey, or what number to call for a local SHIP counselor.

Most people searching for Medicare help online land on content written for a national audience. They get the federal program rules right. But they miss the programs that will most directly affect what they actually pay - PAAD's prescription copay program, enrollment through NJSave, or the network of trained counselors available in every New Jersey county. I have seen people navigate the entire Part D plan selection process using a national guide and never learn that PAAD existed.

The application process is where this gap does the most practical damage. National guides correctly explain who qualifies for federal savings programs. But they don't explain that New Jersey residents apply through NJSave, that one form can unlock multiple programs simultaneously, or that New Jersey has its own counselors who specialize in these specific interactions. Following a national guide carefully can still leave a resident using the wrong process.

According to the NJ SHIP counseling program, which serves all 21 New Jersey counties, this pattern comes up regularly: residents who navigated federal Medicare correctly but had never been told about a state program that could have saved them money each month. In practice, general national guidance is not a substitute for New Jersey-specific help.

How Does New Jersey's Free SHIP Counseling Network Work - and When Should You Call?

New Jersey's SHIP program provides free, unbiased Medicare counseling through more than 300 trained volunteers in every county - with no sales agenda and no cost to you.

According to the NJ SHIP program, the State Health Insurance Assistance Program maintains counseling sites across all 21 New Jersey counties. Counselors are trained volunteers - not insurance agents, not brokers. They receive no commission. Their job is to help you understand your options and get the benefits you are entitled to. You can reach them at 1-800-792-8820, by virtual appointment, or in person at senior centers and community sites throughout the state.

SHIP counselors help with a wide range of Medicare questions: plan selection, enrollment windows, claims, appeals, and direct application help for state programs. If you are trying to figure out whether you qualify for PAAD, which Medicare Savings Program tier you fall into, or how to appeal a Part D denial, a counselor can walk through it with you directly. In practice, this is county-level, NJ-specific help - not a general helpline reading from a federal fact sheet.

One of the most common things SHIP counselors do is help people complete the NJSave application. A single form can cover the Medicare Savings Programs, PAAD, and the Lifeline utility credit simultaneously. A counselor can flag errors before you submit, follow up if the application stalls, and help you confirm that coverage is actually active once it is approved.

According to Medicare.gov, SHIP operates in all 50 states - but New Jersey's network is one of the more accessible in the region, with enough counselors that most counties have multiple contact points. The takeaway: this is the resource that was built specifically for the problems NJ Medicare residents face.

What Makes New Jersey's 2026 Medicare Enrollment Calendar Different From the Federal Norm?

In short: What Makes New Jersey's 2026 Medicare Enrollment Calendar Different From the Federal Norm?: New Jersey follows the federal Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 through December 7).

New Jersey follows the federal Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 through December 7), but the state's Medigap rules and a shrinking 2026 Part D market make this year's enrollment decisions especially consequential.

According to New Jersey's 2026 Medicare plan landscape, the state lost two standalone Part D plans this year - dropping from 14 to 12 - while average monthly Part D premiums climbed from $61 to $78. That is a significant single-year increase. Nine New Jersey counties also saw Medicare Advantage terminations in 2026: Bergen, Passaic, Camden, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren. Residents in those counties had to make an active plan change whether they planned to or not. Some were auto-enrolled in a fallback plan without realizing it. What this means: your 2025 plan may not be your best 2026 option.

One 2026 federal change works in your favor: a new $2,000 annual out-of-pocket cap on Part D. This is the first hard cap in the program's history. If you are currently on a Medicare Advantage plan partly because of drug cost concerns, this change is worth reviewing alongside a SHIP counselor before you commit to another year.

The NJ Medigap rule is a separate advantage worth knowing. New Jersey is one of a small number of states that allows year-round Medigap switching without medical underwriting. In most states, that flexibility exists only at initial enrollment or after a qualifying life event. In practice, NJ residents have more options to change course than they may realize.

According to the NJ SHIP counseling program, side-by-side plan comparisons using your actual prescription list during AEP are among the highest-value services they provide. One appointment is usually all it takes to see whether your current plan still makes sense.

What Is the WISeR Pilot and How Does It Affect New Jersey's Original Medicare Patients?

CMS launched a prior-authorization pilot called WISeR in six states in January 2026 - New Jersey included - adding AI-assisted review to Original Medicare claims for the first time.

Prior authorization has always been a feature of Medicare Advantage plans. Traditional Original Medicare did not require it. The WISeR pilot changes that for residents in the six states where it is running. The program uses AI to flag claims before they are paid. Providers in New Jersey may now need prior approval for certain services before delivering them to Original Medicare patients - something that was not required before 2026.

According to CMS's record on this pilot, a Senate resolution to block WISeR failed 46-50 in July 2026. The pilot is still active. No federal legislation to halt it is currently moving forward. In practice, this means NJ Original Medicare enrollees are operating under a more scrutinized claims environment than they were twelve months ago - and that environment is not going away soon.

The good news is that the appeals process for denied claims has not changed. If a claim is denied because it was flagged under WISeR's AI review, you have the same right to appeal through Medicare's five-level process. The first step - a redetermination request - can be filed within 120 days of a denial notice. The rules are identical to any other Medicare denial.

According to the NJ SHIP counseling program, denial-related calls are among the most common reasons people reach out to their network. If you are an Original Medicare enrollee in New Jersey and a claim is denied in 2026, do not assume the decision is final. SHIP counselors regularly assist with redetermination requests at no charge. They are trained for exactly this.

Why Are Medicare Enrollment Penalties Permanent - and What Can Late Sign-Up Cost You?

Missing Medicare's enrollment windows comes with lifetime consequences - both the Part B and Part D late enrollment penalties stay on your premium bill permanently once they are assessed.

According to Medicare's late enrollment penalty rules, the Part B penalty adds 10% to your monthly Part B premium for each full 12-month period you were eligible but did not enroll. There is no expiration on that increase. A two-year delay adds 20% - permanently. The only way to avoid it is by having qualifying coverage through a current employer during the time you otherwise would have needed to sign up. Retirement coverage from a former employer does not count.

The Part D penalty works the same way. For each month you went without creditable prescription drug coverage after your initial enrollment period, CMS adds $0.32 to your monthly Part D premium. That number follows you from plan to plan and never disappears. Eighteen months without coverage adds roughly $5.76 per month to every Part D bill you receive for the rest of your life.

Here is something I find people do not realize until they are already facing the bill: these penalties affect your base premium before any state program calculates your cost. QMB, SLMB, and PAAD can reduce what you pay - but they work from an already-inflated starting point if a penalty is in place. In practice, delaying enrollment can permanently shrink the benefit those programs provide.

According to the NJ SHIP counseling program, enrollment penalty questions are among the most frequent they handle - especially from people who delayed because they were still working or didn't realize they needed to sign up at 65. A SHIP counselor can review whether a Special Enrollment Period applies that might reduce or eliminate the penalty before it locks in.

How Do You Find Trusted Medicare Patient Advocacy Help in New Jersey in 2026?

In short: How Do You Find Trusted Medicare Patient Advocacy Help in New Jersey in 2026?: If you are ready to act, the path starts in two places.

If you are ready to act, the path starts in two places: a call to NJ SHIP at 1-800-792-8820 and an NJSave application that screens you for multiple benefit programs in one submission.

According to the NJ SHIP program, a single counseling appointment can cover plan comparison, a review of your PAAD and Medicare Savings Program eligibility, and help completing the NJSave form in the same session. Bring your Medicare card, your list of current prescriptions, and a rough sense of your household income. SHIP counselors will walk through the rest with you. The appointment is free.

For families dealing with an appeal, a WISeR denial review, or the kind of cross-program eligibility confusion described earlier in this article, SHIP's volunteer network sometimes cannot provide the ongoing follow-through the situation requires. A counselor can answer your question in one call. Getting a denial reversed, or tracking an NJSave application through a multi-week processing backlog, often takes someone who can stay with the case. Demand for that kind of NJ-specific, case-managed Medicare advocacy is real - and that kind of help is genuinely hard to find.

According to Medicare.gov, beneficiaries have the right to patient advocacy support at any stage - during enrollment, during plan changes, and during appeals. That right exists regardless of which type of advocate you use.

At Understood Care, we work with New Jersey families who are at exactly this point. They know what they should qualify for. They need someone to make sure the applications go through and the coverage actually activates. If you would like help navigating PAAD, the Medicare Savings Programs, or an ongoing claims issue in New Jersey, contact our team directly to talk through what you are dealing with.

What Should New Jersey Medicare Beneficiaries Watch Over the Next Two Years?

The two changes I watch most closely in New Jersey are WISeR's prior-authorization expansion and the further narrowing of Part D plan choices.

What to Watch	Why It Matters	How to Prepare
WISeR prior-authorization stays active. According to CMS, the Senate failed to block the pilot. Review volume for Original Medicare in New Jersey is likely to grow.	Providers must request pre-approval for certain services. Denials may rise. Appeals matter more than before.	Document medical necessity before scheduling services. File a redetermination within 120 days of any denial.
State programs remain the primary cost buffer. Part D premiums rose and plan choices narrowed. PAAD income thresholds held steady for 2026.	Residents who qualify can insulate themselves from private-market cost increases. The state programs are still functioning as designed.	Apply through the NJSave portal. One application screens for multiple programs at once.
Free SHIP counseling holds its ground. NJ SHIP's 300+ counselors remain active across all 21 counties. Paid advisory services are being marketed more aggressively.	Most families will not need to pay for Medicare guidance as long as SHIP remains funded and accessible across the state.	Call 1-800-792-8820 before paying anyone for Medicare advice. SHIP counselors cannot sell you anything.

Here is the thing most people miss. The state programs have not been cut. WISeR adds a real administrative burden for some patients. But PAAD, QMB, and SHIP are still functioning. The risk in New Jersey is not that help is unavailable - it is that most eligible residents have never applied for the programs they already qualify for.

Forecast for 12-24 months

Where NJ Medicare Assistance Programs Head Next

Three forecasts on how PAAD, prior-authorization rules, and free Medicare counseling in New Jersey are likely to shift over the next two years.

26 sources analyzed5 community discussions3 industry publications2 government sources2 video sources

A

Forecasts for NJ Medicare Assistance

Use these forecasts to anticipate how costs, denials, and counseling access may shift for New Jersey Medicare beneficiaries.

Where We're Most Sure

87/100

High confidence 12-24 months

Even as New Jersey's average Part D premium climbs from about $61/month in 2025 to about $78/month in 2026 and plan choices narrow from 14 to 12 insurers, PAAD (2026 income limit $54,943 single/$62,390 married) and Medicare Savings Program tiers (QMB at $1,350/month for an individual) will keep actual drug and premium costs capped for eligible low- and moderate-income residents.

The Unexpected Pick

76/100

Low confidence 12-24 months

Most New Jersey Medicare beneficiaries will continue getting adequate plan-selection help from the state's free SHIP counseling network, staffed by 300+ counselors across all 21 counties, rather than shifting to paid advisory services over the next two years.

60/100

Medium confidence 12-24 months

Original Medicare enrollees in New Jersey will keep facing more prior-authorization reviews and denial appeals through 2027, since a Senate resolution to block the WISeR pilot already running in the state failed 46-50 in July 2026.

Still Forming CMS launched the WISeR prior-authorization and AI review model in January 2026 in six states, including New Jersey, and the Senate vote to block it fell short 46-50. New Jersey's 2026 Part D plan count is dropping from 14 to 12 while average premiums rise, but PAAD copays stay fixed at $5 generic/$7 brand and Medicare Savings Programs continue covering Part B premiums and cost-sharing for qualifying residents. A beneficiary reported resolving his plan question with a SHIP counselor in just half an hour, and beneficiaries are already comparing counselor guidance directly against paid insurance agents in public discussion.

B

Evidence Behind the NJ Medicare Forecasts

Each forecast lists the sources that support it and the sources that complicate it.

State low-income programs offset rising Part D costs 87

Supporting evidence

• 2026 NJ Medicare Guide is the strongest public backing for this call. [Video]Medicare annual enrollment period (AEP) runs October 15 to December 7; plan details become public October 1. “This is the Super Bowl of the Medicare world.”
• Backing it: How To Sign Up for NJ PAAD and Medicare Savings Programs. [Video]2026 NJ PAAD income limit: under $54,943/year for a single filer, or $62,390/year if married filing jointly. “If you're not in New Jersey, I would stop and I would Google your state's process.”
• Medicare Savings Programs is the strongest public backing for this call. [Government]QMB Program (2026): monthly income limit $1,350 (individual) / $1,824 (married couple); resource limit $9,950 (individual) / $14,910 (married couple). “Even if you don't think you qualify, you should still apply.”

Counter-signals

• If Congress succeeds in blocking or narrowing the WISeR prior-authorization pilot, if New Jersey lowers PAAD or Medicare Savings Program income thresholds, or if federal funding for SHIP counseling is cut, these forecasts would need to be revised.

Free SHIP counseling keeps pace with paid advocacy demand 76

Supporting evidence

• The case rests on r/medicare on Reddit: Why I always double down on working with a. [Community / Forum]Post references a JAMA Network Open study (jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2832052) as source material on agents vs. SHIP counselors, but no data from the study itself is included in the thread text. “I inherently distrust people who receive sales commissions.”
• State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) - NJ.gov points the same way. [Government]SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program) provides free help to New Jersey Medicare beneficiaries with health insurance problems or questions. “Volunteer counselors do not provide legal advice, sell, recommend, endorse any specific insurance product, agent, insurance company or plan. They provide…”

Counter-signals

• If Congress succeeds in blocking or narrowing the WISeR prior-authorization pilot, if New Jersey lowers PAAD or Medicare Savings Program income thresholds, or if federal funding for SHIP counseling is cut, these forecasts would need to be revised.

Prior-authorization scrutiny grows under WISeR 60

Supporting evidence

• Medicare Rights Urges Congress to Protect Beneficiary Access to points the same way. [Industry Publication]The Senate voted on S.J. Res 198 to block the six-year WISeR (Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction) model; it failed 46-50 (vote occurred July 16, 2026, per article date). “It also creates perverse incentives: The AI contractors can share in savings that result from the care they deny.”

Counter-signals

• If Congress succeeds in blocking or narrowing the WISeR prior-authorization pilot, if New Jersey lowers PAAD or Medicare Savings Program income thresholds, or if federal funding for SHIP counseling is cut, these forecasts would need to be revised.

C

What Could Change These NJ Medicare Forecasts

Congressional action, funding shifts, or new state rules could move these predictions before 2028.

Our Hedge

Of everything here, 87 rests on the firmest ground, while 76 is the call most likely to surprise us.

• If regulators or buyers move in the opposite direction, State low-income programs offset rising Part D costs would weaken first.
• If the source mix shifts toward stronger contrary evidence, Free SHIP counseling keeps pace with paid advocacy demand could become the more durable forecast.

Methodology Here's the thing: our advocates build these calls by combining what they see with patients every day with publicly available trends, then they stress test each one before it goes live.

New Jersey's Medicare landscape in 2026 is more complex than it has been in any previous year. WISeR is active. Part D choices are narrowing. Enrollment penalties are permanent once they accrue. And yet the state has also built a support system that most beneficiaries have never fully used.

According to NJ SHIP, free Medicare counseling remains available across all 21 counties with no income limit attached. That access point matters more now than it did a year ago - when prior-authorization reviews were not part of the picture for Original Medicare enrollees in New Jersey.

In practice, the families I work with most often regret waiting. The takeaway from this article is not a list of programs. It is a reminder that the coverage exists - and that one phone call to NJ SHIP at 1-800-792-8820 is often all it takes to find out where you stand.