I am on long term disability. I am experiencing problems getting health insurance. Any ideas??

I cannot get medicaid because I make too much money. I cannot draw medicare for two years. My major problem is prescription coverage. At this point I don't care about hospital coverage. I have COPD so I have a lot of medications that I have to take to stay alive. Any help is greatly appreciated. AARP turned me down because I am on disability. I am 60 years old.

My mother had COPD, so I know a little bit about what you鈥檙e going through. You might want to try NeedyMeds (link below). It鈥檚 a site that has a lot of information on discount health care services 鈥?including medicine and health care services. Another support site you might be interested in is Bill Horden鈥檚 COPD Advocate (link below). There are other, more official support sites, but this one was a little different because of the personal touch it has. Mr. Horden has an article from the Wall Street Journal about possible ways to get help paying for medications. Also, I found the site to be touching 鈥?it offers several perspectives on struggling with COPD. I鈥檇 also call your state insurance department (link below) and ask them about possibilities. You might qualify for some other state-assisted health insurance program that鈥檚 not associated with Medicaid.

Your best bet, though, with finding a private insurance solution is to talk with local health insurance agents. They have probably fielded your question before and might represent a health plan that can help you cover the cost of oxygen, drugs, and therapy to improve lung function. Try visiting MostChoice.com. It鈥檚 a Web site that connects state-licensed agents with consumers. There鈥檚 no cost to you, and you鈥檙e not expected to buy insurance from any of the agents that contact you. It鈥檚 a quick and efficient way to find out the answers you need because, chances are, your question will be answered in about two minutes after you start talking with a local agent.

You can visit MostChoice here: http://www.mostchoice.com/health-insuran...

Take care. I hope this helps.

Barnes @ MostChoice.com

Talk to your doctor who prescribed the medication. The drug companies have plans for people without insurance to provide medications at a reduced price or free. If you don't qualify, see if the doctor could provide you with samples of the medications you need. Even some would help you stretch your budget. I am on several meds and this works for me.

I was in the same shoes before I got my Medicare. I paid a lot for Blue Shield and Blue Cross but did not get prescription coverage. In some states there is some help but there is a ceiling with income. I know this is horrible. I paid $700 a month for my husbands meds till we had Medicare. I am broke because of this.

drug companies give away their drugs free to indigent patients.Go to the companies web site or ask your doc

There is a program called partnership for prescription assistance that may be able to help. You can go to this website: https://www.pparx.org/Intro.php and enter your information or you can call them at 1-888-477-2669 and they can take your information over the phone.

From their website: The Partnership for Prescription Assistance brings together America's pharmaceutical companies, doctors, other health care providers, patient advocacy organizations and community groups to help qualifying patients who lack prescription coverage get the medicines they need through the public or private program that's right for them. Many will get them free or nearly free. Among the organizations collaborating on this program are the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association, the Lupus Foundation of America, the NAACP, the National Alliance for Hispanic Health and the National Medical Association. To access the Partnership for Prescription Assistance by phone, you can call toll-free, 1-888-4PPA-NOW (1-888-477-2669).