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OLYMPIA, Wash. ? A small volunteer effort that started in Mount Vernon and grew into one of the nation?s most popular senior customer assistance programs is celebrating 45 years of work.

The Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) program, part of the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC), has spent more than 40 years providing hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries in Washington state with free, unbiased and confidential counseling services.?

SHIBA helps people in every corner of the state with questions about enrolling in Medicare, switching plans, getting prescription drug help and reporting Medicare fraud.?

?People will stop to thank me for the SHIBA program and tell me how it has helped them or a loved one,? said Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. ?It saved some people money on their health insurance and it helped some people find the right health coverage. I?m incredibly proud of the work they?ve been doing for more than four decades to support seniors in our state.?