Well, seeing as he's 19, he probably doesn't make easy connections on a few different things. Let me help him out:
a) one can get a student loan without a cosigner, however it will be the federal type which means you can't weasle your way out of it when you are a grown up and the ailing mother cosigner is gone.
b) one can do what I had to do at that age, and tht is work(for me it was to survive) and delay college OR work to help out and at the same time take what credits you can afford each semester or every other semester to at least start. Hell you might even get a job that has tuition reimbursement and you can get a good chunk of a (marketable) degree paid for by your employer.
I'll also point out that if his father is such a bastard then the blame should lay squarely on him and not the government, the insurance companies, the public, etc.
Oh and btw, my grandmother died under the care of the plan you want so badly. She was under British nationalized care in the '80's. Had to WAIT--read that WAIT several months to scan a mass in her belly(just to scan it and see what it was). By the time it was scanned, they went uh oh we better look closer, and operated on, it had spread throughout her body and she died a few months later. This 'greedy' insurance system has kept your mother alive until you were an adult--it was not their responsibility to provide for all her necessities or make her life comfortable, but they did tend to her life--unfortunately her hard road was going to crossroads with her illness and it wasn't going to be a tidy affair if she didn't marry a guy that was very well off--that's unfortunate, but sometimes we make decisions in life aside from money--you know for love, happiness, comfort--perhaps things since you say your daddy was rich she wanted instead of money in a new husband--something tells me mom recognizes this and it's why she sacrifices like she does for her family---she made her choices and accepts them.
And if you want to feel a hint of guilt, no doubt a pregnancy or two exacerbated her RA on some level. I know that's mean, but any major body change like that puts pressure on immune illnesses--particularily one's like pregnancies that play suppress and then release the immune system to protect the infant from the mother's immune system.
My best advice to this kid: find other resources for college, get a job and help your mother(instead of getting housing, shuffle some money her way to help out with the expenses), and recognize that on one hand you are blaming the wrong 'people' and on the other hand there are some things in life you just have to accept. Also recognize the fact that you may not have a life like other 19 year olds...yours may be one of duty and obligation. That's not an insurance company's fault; that's just the hand we are dealt at times. At least you have a loving family who would do anything for you in return. Some people get dealt a shit stack and don't even have that...be grateful for that much at least.
PS One can get student loans with not such great credit btw...I call big bs on that one or just a lack of experience on someone who has not investigated all of their options yet.
