Hi jayne. Your income is just a little more than mine. I would agree that $370/month for Medigap is a luxury that you can't afford. That's a huge chunk of your annual income. (over $4000/year.)

Look into Medicare Advantage Plans. My boyfriend has an income silmilar to yours and mine. That is what he has. Advantage Plans tend to be the best bet for low income people. These plans are provided by private insurers, like Humana. They will happily send someone to explain the options to you. They have (usually) an option particularly for low income folks. Often there is no premium for you to pay. The "Advantage" Plan puts you into an HMO or PPO. The HMO is usually cheaper than the PPO. Sometimes the plan has nice extras, like free membership in a fitness center.

Now, being in an HMO, whuch is what an Advantage plan is, does limit what doctors you can go to. But your co-pay, if any, will be very low. I took my boyfriend to an excellent Urgent Care center, and his co-pay was $10 (for a cut foot.) He was seen by an actual doctor, rather than a Nurse Practitioner.

Make appointments to speak to a few representatives from different Advantage plans. Then when each one comes, say you are seeing others and will not make a decision until you have interviewed all of them. They will give you nice brochers and good explanations of how their plans work.

Get the Medicaid coverage to pay your Part B premium. I get that. Think about this: if the government feels you need help paying the Part B premium, then they sure don't expect that you should be spending hundreds of dollars per month on Medigap. Medigap is for people with more income and wealth than what you have. It gives them broader options, but you can still get decent healthcare in plans with fewer options.

The Advantage plan that you select will get something like $10,000 per year from the federal government for their agreement to take care of you. Out of that pile of money, whatever they don't spend on you is what they keep as profit. Google: "Advantage plans" for the state you live in. In my state we have ones that don't require any monthly premium at all. Then don't fret too much about which one to pick. You can switch to a different one, after a year. That's their incentive to keep you happy. Co-pays for the no, or low premium plans will not be very much, like I said above.

Definitely go after that full Medicaid, if you can get it. I was denied that, even though my income is slightly lower than yours. Medicaid takes care of dental and vision, which is a big deal. But some Advantage plans will give you a little dental and vision coverage, even if you don't have Medicaid. The only reason I am not on an Advantage plan myself, is because, back when I was close to indigent, I got taken into a special plan in my county that lets me access all my care through the local state university hospital, which also happens to have a full-service psychiatric facility. I've had the option to stay with that. Otherwise, I definitely would have got into a no-premium advantage plan.