We did before Obamacare.
No, we didn’t.
Their sad stories would end up on the six o’clock news and generate political pressure for government to “do something”.
It would happen again, and you know it.
Absolutely...it’s called Medicaid.
No, we didn't. States had high risk pools that were more expensive than private-insurer premiums would have been for a person without preexisting conditions, but not unattainable. I'd be fine with returning to that system. At least the welfare aspect of it is devolved from the feds to the states, and only applied to a few, rather than millions. May be the best attainable.