Cynthia Cathcart’s mother died after a year of delayed care for her cancer because of a pre-existing condition (she was denied a health insurance plan because she had asthma). Now, Cynthia, her husband, and their two sons are in their own struggle to try to keep health coverage on their tight budget and with their own pre-existing conditions.

Cynthia and her husband Eric are both self-employed; she as a piano teacher, and he as an event producer. When it comes to health insurance, they fall through the cracks: They don’t get health insurance through their jobs, they don’t have a low enough income to be eligible for Medicaid or CHIP, and they don’t have enough money to pay for quality care in the individual market.

When Cynthia left her last full-time job in 1999, she kept the insurance with Kaiser that she had at her job. But, over the years that followed, the Cathcarts’ budget was squeezed and squeezed as Kaiser kept raising their premium. It came to a breaking point when their premium reached over $1,000 a month. That premium alone would have taken up a huge percentage of their income --and that’s before they even paid for actual care. It simply wasn’t sustainable.

The Cathcarts were forced to switch plans within Kaiser, trading higher premiums for less comprehensive care—but premiums were still too high. Desperate for better health coverage, they searched the individual market. But other insurance companies denied them: They claimed that Eric was “obese” (he was 25 pounds overweight), and they refused to cover one of the Cathcarts’ sons, who has Asperger’s syndrome. Finally, Cynthia and her sons were offered a plan. But Eric was still denied (though he lost the weight, he was now taking pills for his high blood pressure) and had to get a separate, lower quality health plan. Now, Cynthia and Eric are on two different plans, with two different sets of rules. And, even though their combined premium is now lower at $650, it is still a large burden on their family budget.

Cynthia worries about what would happen if they were both in an accident. And Eric, frustrated with lower quality coverage and the day to day battle of keeping what little coverage they have, has been forced to alter all plans and dreams to build up his small business and hire employees. Eric is pursuing alternatives including employment where he hopes he will find better coverage for his family.

In the Cathcart’s story, we see a perfect example of how so many families struggle every day just to get the care they need or just to stay covered in case of a serious accident. Not only has the current health care system been inadequate for Cynthia, her husband, and their sons, but it was inadequate for her mother as well. And when it comes to health care, families like the Cathcarts shouldn’t be penalized for health conditions they can’t control; they shouldn’t have to choose high cost over quality and job lock over freedom.