I chose to go into a freelance career, so for most of my life I've gone the self-pay route. In my 20s and with no pre-existing conditions, that was no big deal; premiums were about $100/month then.

In the 90s, I was lucky enough to be able to join an union and they offered extremely good health insurance. But this insurance was conditional on my making at least 30k/year.

In 2004, my husband was diagnosed w/Lewy Body Disease, a dementia much like Alzheimer's. I chose to become his primary caregiver and cut back on my work hours. I tried to plan ahead and, knowing that I would eventually lose my health insurance due lack of work, I signed up onto my husband's health plan.

But as the cost of my husband's care needs mounted over the next few years, I started to look for ways to save money. My being on his health insurance cost us an additional $400/month, so I removed myself from his plan with the understanding that I would be able to get back on after my own coverage ended.

My husband passed away suddenly in March 2009 after 5 years of fighting his disease; my own health coverage ended a week after he died because I failed to meet the $30K threshold. Because I wasn't on my husband's plan when he died, there's no way I can get back on.

So now I'm left with the prospect of buying my own insurance again or paying for COBRA. Now that I'm in my 40s, premiums are over $400/month-- ridiculously unaffordable, especially since I haven't worked in the past two years. It's like I'm being punished for choosing to care for my husband instead of going to work everyday.

Health insurance should not be employer-based any longer! It needs to be universal-- regardless of whether you're retired, employed, self-employed, freelance or unemployed.