It's not easy being a free-lancer in anything, including teaching. Andrew Thompson is a college instructor at four colleges and is a working sculptor. Yet he has very little money left at the end of the month to purchase health coverage. Included in his monthly bills are payments on $60,000 in student loans, which he will need to pay for 28 years. As a result, he works without it, and without disability and life insurance. He thinks about the risk all the time and looks forward to the day when he can earn enough to pay for a basic, catastrophic coverage. In the meantime, he hopes for good health.

Photo: Donna Terek