The myth of able bodied people not working and on Medicaid:

[Ms. Toad]

11. Yup.

I had my own pre-existing conditions, so I couldn't get insurance either, and as a able-bodied adult wasn't eligible for Medicaid.

For the time I was a stay-at-home mom, I used a series of rotating short-term health insurance policies. Dirt cheap - unless the condition I had flared up. At that point, I would have had to pay out of pocket for very costly medical care - and, depending on how long the flare lasted - go on the state's high risk pool insurance at $1500/month. I moved from that to student insurance (and actually had a flare my last month as a student).