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Thursday, Oct 15, 2020

Has access to health care for people with preexisting conditions worsened since the passage of the Affordable Care Act?

Jacqueline Agustin, Gigafact Foundry
no

Under the Affordable Care Act, health-insurance companies cannot refuse to cover patients with preexisting conditions or charge them more for coverage. From 2013 to 2015, 16.5 million non-elderly adults gained coverage; of these, 2.6 million had pre-existing conditions.

Before the law was passed in 2010, insurers could charge higher premiums, limit benefits or deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions. In early 2010, 19% of individual insurance applications were denied, most often for health reasons. The ACA incorporated earlier limited protections for some patients with preexisting conditions, while broadening protection across the population.

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