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The last time we talked with 45-year-old Terri Carlson, she was health care reform's biggest cheerleader.

Carlson, who suffers from C4 Complement Deficiency - a genetic disorder that renders her body unable to fight off bacteria properly, made headlines earlier this year after launching her Web site Will Marry for Health Insurance, and a string of YouTube videos chronicling her search for health insurance through marriage after her 24-year marriage ended in divorce. Currently insured by COBRA, which is set to expire within the next year, Carlson's single status might as well be a countdown to bankruptcy as far as she's concerned.

So why, when the health care reform bill she thought she was waiting for was signed into law yesterday by President Obama, is Carlson less hopeful than ever? Turns out, some of the bill's legislation won't take effect for months, even years from now. Some of the most important pieces of legislation, like the no-refusal of a pre-existing condition clause won't go into effect until 2014, leaving Carlson to wonder just what she's supposed to do for the next four years.

Lemondrop: What was your reaction to the passage of the health care bill?
Carlson: I watched all 12 hours of it, but you know, I have mixed feelings about it. Obviously, I'm glad that something was done -- I don't agree with every part of the bill, but I'm glad they won't be able to deny people with pre-existing conditions. The problem is, once again, I'm stuck in the middle. Unfortunately, this new insurance pool that they're going to create in the next 90 days for high-risk people, for some reason, they created a rule that you cannot have had insurance six months prior in order to qualify for this plan, which means I'd have to go off of my COBRA and be uninsured for six months in order to get on this plan. I can't live six months without health insurance. It's really distressing. I'm upset, but happy for the people it does help. I think it's wonderful for them.

So your search for health insurance through marriage is still on?
I have no choice. What am I going to do? I had all my hopes in the passage of health care reform, but four years is too late for me. I'll be bankrupt in four years.

So in your mind, what would need to happen to help this middle group?
I feel like there was a donut hole with prescription drugs and Medicare and now I feel like there's a donut hole with this emergency high-risk pool. What were they thinking? Do they not think that there are people with pre-existing conditions who cannot wait for COBRA to end? COBRA only lasts for 24 months. Their program is not going into effect for four years. These people have serious disabilities. How do they think these people are going to get insurance for the next four years, or how would they live six months without it?

What about an extension for the COBRA program?
No, because COBRA is so expensive. The pool that they're putting together right now is a high-risk pool and it's going to be subsidized by the government. For me, I'm paying 90 percent of my income (toward my insurance.) That would have been a Godsend for me. COBRA is unaffordable for almost anybody. It's not a good plan to be on. It's very expensive. It costs me over $400 a month and that's not including my prescriptions and doctor co-pays. Why is it that they can implement the pre-existing condition clause for children, but not for adults? Why make us wait four years? If they can do it for the children, why can't they do it for us?

How is the search progressing so far?
Well, I've contacted about 25 to 30 people, and about a week and a half ago, I signed to do a reality show. They're going to bring a lot of the men that I've met on the Web site over so I can meet them. It's going to be a "Bachelor"-type show, so that I can hopefully find love, and they'll be able to screen the people that I see, which I couldn't possibly do. It's an opportunity to maybe meet a really wonderful guy. It's also a chance to bring more awareness about the issue.

Any idea on when you'll start shooting?
No, not yet. I've signed with a reality agency that packages reality shows. They've done "Judge Judy," "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," and they create the format and then sell it to a studio. I don't know when anything is going to happen yet. I think they're still working on the format of the show. I literally just signed a week and a half ago.

You're also planning a dating Web site for people who lack health insurance and would marry to get it?
Well it started from all the people who would email me and say, "Can I have the guys you don't want?" I bought the site domain already. It's WillMarryForHealthInsurance.net, a companion to my .com site. The problem is the legality. I need to make sure I'm covered from liability from someone who meets someone who could harm them or even from making sure people understand that I'm not encouraging insurance fraud. This is something that I want to offer to people for free. Obviously, the people who really need this help are the people who can least afford to pay for a dating site.

The last time we talked, people had a lot to say in response to your search for health care.
Yes, and it's so funny that people don't think my situation is real. People have said all kinds of things. Some said I should create a fake business. Why do people think that creating a fake business is better than a fake marriage? What hurts my feelings is people calling me names like a prostitute, or that I'm selling myself for insurance, but I've always said from the beginning, that I would never marry somebody just for the insurance. I want love too. It's just that good health coverage is one of my criteria for finding a mate. So yeah, honestly that stuff hurt my feelings. I've only had three boyfriends in my life, meaning I've only slept with three people in my life, and two were as a teen. I've been married most of my life and I was faithful to that marriage, so yeah, it's painful to hear people say things like that or that this isn't real. This is real for me. It's just not so cut and dry. But what has evolved from this is my conviction that I cannot let thousands of emails from other suffering people sit there and not doing anything to help, which is why I'm starting a dating site and continuing to be a voice for this. I don't know how much I can do, but I'm going to do my best.

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