At least the ACA has made some improvements. I burned out of my career years ago and haven't really fully recovered because I was unable to get health insurance on my own. They could deny you for anything and there were no purchasable options. I had no choice but to continue working to have my health coverage and I still had to fight constantly over things that were considered pre-existing. When a new health problem occurred, it made it even harder to move on because you knew it wouldn't be covered at all even if you got a new job with great insurance.

Now I have the opposite problem. I'm on medical and everything is fully covered no matter what and I don't have to fight with them for anything, but in order to keep it I have to live in poverty. It's so great to finally be getting my medical issues fully addressed and actually getting healthier, but I am having trouble sustaining myself financially because of income limits. The sad reality is that it's cheaper right now for me to go into debt and sit on my ass than to work at a job and have limited coverage. I think it's hard for people without chronic health needs to really understand just how limited and fucked up all insurances can be. They will do anything to lose the least amount of money on you, and it puts all the responsibility on the patient to clear up all the BS.