Editor's note: "Since U Asked" needs questions to answer! Send your query about why things are at the University to insideuva@virginia.edu, or via messenger mail to Since U Asked, Inside UVA, Booker House, Box 400229.

Q I signed up for the Virginia Sickness and Disability Plan when it was offered, and I am now receiving mail about a long-term health plan offered by Aetna. Aren't I already covered? What's the difference?

A There are worlds of difference, says Margaret Marsh, the ombudsman for the U.Va. healthcare plan.

Essentially, VSDP provides for a portion of your salary to be paid if you are disabled; it's income replacement.

The long-term care plan that the state is offering through Aetna, however, would pay for services needed when you -- or possibly a spouse, or a parent, or even in-laws -- can no longer care for yourself. It covers the cost of a long-term care facility, adult day care, or in-home nursing care. These expenses can go well beyond the income received from VSDP, so it is possible to be enrolled in both simultaneously.

Incidentally, federal government benefits cover only nursing care, and that only through the Medicaid program, which has income requirements.

The deadline for guaranteed enrollment in the Aetna plan is Dec. 1; after that, employees must complete a medical exam to qualify. Premiums vary depending upon the plan options selected and the participant's age, and may be deducted from payroll checks after taxes. The plan is available only to "Agency 207" employees (the University's academic side).

For information, call the Benefits Office at 924-4392.