The biggest problem is people who want insurance can't obtain it. When I turned 26 this year I tried to get individual coverage, but was denied because I have asthma. Right now I'm paying the higher cost for COBRA. I just think the process should be simpler and does not discriminate for pre-exisitng conditions that are out of a person's control.

Looks like the guy in your article will have to sacrifice one of his jet skis to insure himself, like everyone else. If he has a fairly clean slate of health, it'll cost him about $80 a month to get basic insurance from IHC. About the price of gas for one trip to lake Powell.

Anonymous is right about pre-existing conditions. There need to be provisions for people to get insured with asthma and other low-intensity chronic issues.

Being uninsured affects older people, too. I am 60, my husband is 54, and we have no insurance. I am working at a job that has no benefits and pays about $9.50 an hour, so we can't afford to purchase it ourselves. All of the policies we have looked at have such a high deductible (in the $3000-$7000 range) that they are basically useless, and would cost one of my paychecks each month for the premium. We are checking into getting a medical discount card for now, even though they don't reduce our costs very much. Better than nothing. We both take medications, too. My husband will be going back to work the end of September, but it will be 90 days before he can get insurance. In the meantime, we just hope neither of us gets sick.