Ann Battenfield's healthcare coverage has so far been expensive and inefficient. The Affordable Care Act could change her life -- and the lives of millions in similar situations.

WASHINGTON, May 8 -- President Barack Obama made expanding the pool of insured Americans and guaranteeing coverage for those with pre-existing conditions cornerstones of his health care reform effort.

The resulting Affordable Care Act might well have been written for Illinois resident Ann Battenfield. She lacked insurance for 18 months before health care reform became a reality.

Credit: Andrew Hedlund -- Medill News Service

Battenfield has been self-employed since the 1990s and, as a result, was self-insured, but toward the end of that decade it became increasingly difficult to get coverage.

By about 2001 I was out of options, Battenfield said. For a while I would take consulting jobs with companies who offered to keep you on their insurance as long as you worked with them, even though I didnt want to work for the company.

The work was temporary. So, after she finished the job, she would be eligible for COBRA, government-sponsored health insurance for people who lose their jobs or see a reduction in hours.

(Note: Issues ruled by the Internal Revenue Service dictate that anyone between 100 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty line are eligible. It could be slightly different though if a state decides to participate in the Medicaid expansion.)

In the early 2000s, Battenfield stumbled upon a union that offered health insurance, a windfall that lasted until late 2008.

But she has periodic limb movement disorder that occurs during sleep. Insurance carriers consider it a pre-existing condition, meaning obtaining coverage didnt come down to just costs. It was also eligibility.

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Health care tax credits: Eligibility and economic impact