26 yo with HIV and Cobra about to be terminated..

[RydrJ]

26 yo guy here who lives in NY State. I worked for a few years in NYC before I was laid off in 2008.

I had great benefits and although I wasn't on treatment because my stats were good, I continued my COBRA benefits just in case. I contracted HIV during my time in NYC.

I'm coming to the end of my 18 month COBRA in the next couple of months and wondering what my options are?

I know NY passed a law during Summer 2009 to extend COBRA from 18 months to 36 months now but I am unsure if I can qualify for this as I'm not up for renewal and/or there have been no amendments to me current plan..

I know doing a conversion contract will be super expensive (I pay $450/month for excellent benefits) and worried that I won't be able to afford a bump up in price.

Any suggestions out there? I'm doing a lot of reading but don't know a way to continue my existing benefits...

Thanks for your help.

[cbg]

[url=http://www.ins.state.ny.us/cobra/cobra_ext_36.htm]COBRA: State Continuation Coverage Extension to 36 Months[/url]