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The article seems to imply that preexisting conditions are due to careless behavior. In many cases, preexisting conditions are just a bad genetic draw and the victim could have done nothing to prevent it. How many people are going to be shuffled off into these high-risk insurance pools with unaffordable premiums so that a bunch of people can save a few bucks a month on their medical insurance? Preexisting conditions coverage was about the only good thing of Obamacare. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

CC...

I have heard others talk about this, (Congressman) and I get the impression you'd pay your normal policy cost they can't deny that, but above and beyond Pre-Existing is where the High Risk Pool kicks in. I don't know what the $ cut off levels are, but their are large numbers being floated to help those effected pay or in some cases maybe help for all of it. A lot of moving parts of this, I am waiting for a really good synopsis and or wonk like Betsy McCaughey really get into how this works, especially the roll over to the State Level.

At some point, my guess is the states compare their ideas and pretty much mimic best practices other than what might fit their states more specific needs.

Read it again. The pre-x provisions affect mostly new individual market applicants.

If you have an IM plan already, you're all set.
If you have a group plan, you're all set.
If you have Medicaid or Medicare, you're all set.
If you have a hangnail, psoriasis, shingles or are overweight, you're probably all set.

If you haven't had insurance, or never had insurance, can't join a group and have a terminal or very expensive condition like hemophilia, cancer, AIDs, are a brittle diabetic, and finally decided to apply for insurance....you're probably going into a high risk pool.

How many people are going to be shuffled off into these high-risk insurance pools

Probably about 1% of the those in the total individual market.

with unaffordable premiums

So who told you they would be unaffordable premiums....and why shouldn't you pay more....it's not insurance, and you're going to be making $100,000 plus claims every year. To qualify for health insurance, you have to have good health to insure in the first place.

so that a bunch of people can save a few bucks a month on their medical insurance?

That "bunch of people"... hundreds of millions, most of the market (healthy insurable people) may well see their premiums cut by 50 to 70%.

Preexisting conditions coverage was about the only good thing of Obamacare.

Covering preexisting conditions is no longer insurance. Insurance covers unknown future risk.

(Hello, I just wrecked my car and my house is on fire...I'd like you to insure them)

Pre-Obamacare, most states had a law that stated that insurance could not raise their rates if you were covered when you developed your condition. Also, in Texas and Pennsylvania, even when I had to change providers, I could not be charged a higher rate, so long as I was covered when I developed my condition. I know this because I lived in both states at different times and had to buy new insurance due to self employment.

This was already the law, this was before Obamacare, so what did Obamacare bring to the table? That you could avoid buying health coverage until you got sick? I bought 3 months of very expensive COBRA coverage so there would be no gap in my coverage when my circumstances changed.