Stress is setting in...

So, my insurance from my old job will be running out in a few weeks. It's starting to hit me what it means to not have insurance. If I get a sore throat, what do I do? What about when my asthma inhaler runs out? So, now, I've started the scary process of looking for insurance that I can take over myself. Anyone who has ever done this, knows how stressfull this can be. I don't even know where to start. Price is obviously going to be a factor. But then, I have to consider how the insurance company treats the patients. Will they tell me something is covered only to decide after the fact that it's not? If I have a question, will there be someone on the other end of the phone to help? On top of this, each company has limits on what is covered. Pre-existing conditions are often not covered. What pre-existing conditions? I'd like to know ahead of time if I'm going to be covered or not. A lot of companies also don't cover certain procedures, wheather a doctor thinks it's necessary or not. So, if I find out I need to have something done, will the insurance company deny me? Will I have to pay out of pocket for something that should be covered? I have no idea how this will all turn out.