People With Pre-Existing Conditions Can Now Get Health Insurance

Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare for short) was passed, insurance companies were able to refuse service to people with expensive conditions like diabetes or cancer. This meant that someone who needed to change insurance providers because of a simple circumstance like a new job or move to a new city could find it impossible to find a new company that would insure them and help pay for their more expensive treatments. All insurance rates of course are based on risk—and health insurers based their rates on health and estimates of costs to cover care. But this became a problem when people with chronic or existing conditions like asthma or cancer found it impossible or prohibitively expensive to get coverage. Insurers can no longer ask an applicant about their conditions before deciding whether or not to cover them, removing a huge barrier and making it possible for people with preexisting conditions to access healthcare like everyone else.