For those who don’t have school or employer-sponsored health insurance — AND have been turned down by the “free market” — AND remain ineligible for health insurance programs aimed at the young(er), the old((er), the disabled, or pregnant –

I looked into what’s available for us in terms of “regular” health insurance (meaning plans beyond catastrophic insurance, or simple prescription med discounts and the like). This is what I’ve found so far:

>> Health insurance via organizations you’re involved with, like your local chamber of commerce, alma mater, or freelancers’ union. Roz Cummins — frequent contributor to Grist — gets her insurance through her local chamber of commerce, and encouraged me to do the same. Unfortunately, Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce doesn’t offer a health insurance option — and is against universal health care to boot. I also discovered that my alma mater, USC, only offers its alumni catastrophic insurance. And freelancers unions with local chapters — while able to procure discounts for those who’re accepted by insurers — can’t help out those who’ve been rejected in the private health insurance market.

>> Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. If you’ve been covered under employer-based health insurance for 18+ months, AND exhausted your COBRA coverage, you can get HIPAA coverage — as long as you don’t qualify for Medicare, Medi-Cal, and/or do not have other health insurance coverage. Unfortunately, since I got my last health insurance via my school, not an employer, I’m not eligible for HIPAA.

>> Major Risk Medical Insurance Program (MRMIP). This program guarantees coverage for Californians who’ve been turned down (or have good reason to believe they’ll be turned down) for medical insurance due to “pre-existing conditions” — and aren’t eligible for Medicare or COBRA. I’m applying for this.

The bad news is that a recent LA Times article found that “Rising premiums and limited subsidies have made the Major Risk Medical Insurance Program either unaffordable, unavailable or ineffective for many of those who most need health insurance.”