Half of Younger Americans Have Preexisting Conditions

[babylonsister]

Study: 129 million have preexisting conditions

Tuesday, January 18, 2011


As many as 129 million Americans under age 65 have medical problems that are red flags for health insurers, according to an analysis that marks the government's first attempt to quantify the number of people at risk of being rejected by insurance companies or paying more for coverage.

The secretary of health and human services is scheduled to release the study on Tuesday, hours before the House plans to begin considering a Republican bill that would repeal the new law to overhaul the health-care system. The report is part of the Obama administration's salesmanship to convince the public of the advantages of the law, which contains insurance protections for people with preexisting medical conditions.

Republicans immediately disparaged the analysis as "public relations." An insurance industry spokesman acknowledged that sick people can have trouble buying insurance on their own but said the analysis overstates the problem.

The study found that one-fifth to one-half of non-elderly people in the United States have ailments that trigger rejection or higher prices in the individual insurance market. They range from cancer to chronic illnesses such as heart disease, asthma and high blood pressure.

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/17/AR2011011704481.html

[RichGirl]

1. Interesting...thanks...

There's nothing more important to parents than the health of the children. So HCR could potentially wake up republicans (I mean the decent ones, not crazy tea baggers)like nothing else. With any other issue that dems and reps disagree with...it isn't so personal. The war, taxes, immigration, etc...for the most part they are numbers. This hits home directly.

The pre-existing thing definitely will effect many. I personally know a number of young adults, right out of college, with minimum wage jobs who have a hard time getting health insurance. If I were a republican and discovered that my party had deliberately deceived me with something this important...that would be the end.

I'm glad the republican congress is trying to repeal it because that spectical will make it even worse when the people find out the truth. Sure the people voted them in to do that...when they didn't know the truth.

They are such idiots! Job-killing is not nearly as horrible as child-dying!!!

[wellstone dem]

2. I wonder how depression figures into preexisting conditions

that will make it nearly impossible for my daughter, who works part-time jobs to get insurance on her own. I have a nephew with juvenile diabetes, and while he will eventually have an amazing career, my sister was so worried about what would happen when he was in graduate school and went off her insurance, now she doesn't worry.

[karynnj]

3. The other thing depression does is that it makes at least some

state packages designed for young adults useless because they might not include any mental health benefits. A few years ago, when our daughter was taking a break from college to deal with depression, we checked the NY state alternatives for insurance and that was the case then. (We paid for COBRA on her coverage on our plan - that ended because she was no longer in college. She was back in school before that would have run out. It is interesting to realize that ANY major illness - physical or mental would have had this result with the insurance ending just as it was needed.)