Health Insurance - Advice/Input Needed

[Guest guest]

Hello all,

I am seeking advice on health insurance. I have been on disability

(private disability insurance provided by my employer, not SSD) for

about 4 months now. I just received a notice from my employer

stating that I have been placed on " inactive " status. This basically

means that they will no longer be providing any benefits, since all

the maximum time requirements (mainly FMLA) have elapsed. So now in

order to remain an employee I have to provide a medical note every

month stating my inability to work and my estimated return date (the

estimated return date would be never....lol..which they have already

been told, in so many words). I thought my company would be

knowledgeable of my situation via contact with the insurance company,

but that's another matter altogether. Anyway, I'm about to

officially inform them that I will never be returning to work due to

my disability. I see no reason to be an " inactive " employee, since

there are no benefits and I would have to keep providing them a

doctor's note every month for at least another year.

So my question is " what should I do for health insurance? " Due to my

disability income, I'm pretty certain I wouldn't qualify for

Medicaid. If I understand correctly, Medicare doesn't begin until an

individual has been on SS disability for a certain amount of time

(something like one or two years), is this correct? I haven't

received my COBRA letter yet, but I estimate the monthly premium will

be somewhere in the range of $500-$700/month (just too much!). I

will need some sort of health insurance for the time between now and

when Medicare kicks in. Since I'm not on SS yet, it's hard to say

how long this will be. But I figure I'll need some sort of health

insurance for at least two to three years. Does anyone know of any

private or government insurance programs for disabled persons? Or

does anyone have any recommendations for a health insurance company?

Any ideas on what a fair monthly premium would be or what typical

deductibles would apply?

Any input is greatly appreciated.

-Rob