I have been on SSDI for 2 yrs and just became eligable for Medicare as of october 1, 2001, I have had alot of home nursing care and Home Infusion therapy and Medicare doesn't cover Home IV's so I need to find coverage Q1. What is the difference between medigap and Medicare + Choice plans? Q2. I live in New Jersey, so which plan would be better for me to obtain? Q3. Our local Aids service org. wasn't much help, I called them and asked and they had no idea..Please help me......I am so confused!!! I do have charity care, for local hospitalizations, and I have PAAD through the state for my medications, which is a 5.00 copay for each perscription and refill Thankyou, very very much for your time and any help you may be able to give me. My e-mail address is : Denni18790@aol.com

You sound like you have a very difficult situation. I'm sorry your local AIDS service org. wasn't able to help you. The situation with Medicare can be confusing and normally I would tell you to get in touch with a local organization for specific information.

In your case, it sounds as if you are going to have to explore all options to see if you can get some coverage. Call the Project Inform hotline at 1-800-822-7422 and ask for the Access Coordinator. He will try to find local or regional resources that can give you information more specific to your area. Possibilities vary state to state and locality to locality so it is important to get some local expertise.

In general, it sounds like you have pieced together a lot of coverage but you still need coverage for at least home IV's and home nursing care? You will have to do some research to see if those sevice are covered under Medi-Gap policies or Medicare + Choice. My understanding is that Medi-Gap policies are generally very expensive, not particularly accessible for people with HIV/AIDS and may not have the coverage you need. Medicare + Choice should be an HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) plan. These plans vary quite a lot too and may not cover all you need. In addition, some of these plans have left NJ so again you would need some local advice.

Try the Project Inform hotline so that you can get further help in researching your options.