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New Analysis Maps Prevalence of Pre-Existing Conditions by Metro Area
In
Some Areas, Nearly 4 in 10 Adults Would Likely Be Denied Individual Insurance
Coverage Based on Pre-ACA Guidelines Or Under Short-Term Plans
A new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis maps rates of
pre-existing conditions across 130 metropolitan and micropolitan areas in the
U.S., finding that even within the same state, the prevalence of such
conditions can vary substantially.
For example, 34
percent of residents of Florence, South Carolina have a pre-existing
condition, but further south in Charleston and Hilton Head, the rate is 24
percent.
The share of
non-elderly adults with a pre-existing condition ranges from 41 percent in
Kingsport, Tennessee to 20 percent in Logan, Utah and Rochester, Minnesota.
A previous KFF
analysis showed that nationwide, 27 percent of adults age 18-64 have a
pre-existing condition that would have led to a denial of individual market
insurance coverage prior to the ACA. Since 2014, the law has prohibited
individual market insurers from denying coverage due to a current or past
diagnosis of a so-called “declinable medical condition,” such as cancer,
diabetes, heart disease, or pregnancy.
While many people with
pre-existing conditions obtain health insurance through an employer or
through a public coverage option like Medicaid, these new estimates suggest
that in some areas, many adults would be ineligible for individual market
insurance under pre-ACA medical underwriting practices if they were to lose
their current coverage.
The Trump
administration has continued to pursue policy changes that would weaken
protections for people with pre-existing conditions, including expanding the
availability of short-term insurance plans, which are exempt from
ACA-required coverage requirements, including guaranteed access to insurance
for people with pre-existing conditions. Several states have responded with
legislation restricting or effectively banning such plans.
The ACA is also being
challenged in court by a group of state attorneys general who argue that the
individual mandate is unconstitutional, and the law should therefore be
overturned. The Trump administration has filed a brief in the case agreeing
that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, and arguing that the ACA’s
pre-existing condition protections should be invalidated.
Filling
the need for trusted information on national health issues, the Kaiser Family Foundation is a nonprofit
organization based in San Francisco, California.
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Tuesday, August 28, 2018
New Analysis Maps Prevalence of Pre-Existing Conditions by Metro Area
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