The Affordable Care Act prohibited insurers from turning away consumers with preexisting medical conditions, a practice that was once standard in the industry.
Among the conditions that once commonly made insurers deny coverage, according to a list assembled by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation, were:
AIDS/HIV
Lupus
Alcohol abuse/drug abuse with recent treatment
Mental disorders
Alzheimer's/dementia
Multiple sclerosis
Arthritis (rheumatoid), fibromyalgia, other inflammatory joint disease
Muscular dystrophy
Cancer within some period of time (e.g., 10 years)
Cerebral palsy
Severe obesity
Organ transplant
Congestive heart failure
Paraplegia
Coronary artery/heart disease, bypass surgery
Paralysis
Crohn's disease/ulcerative colitis
Parkinson's disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)/emphysema
Pending surgery or hospitalization
Diabetes mellitus
Pneumocystis pneumonia
Epilepsy
Pregnancy or expectant parent
Hemophilia
Sleep apnea
Hepatitis C
Stroke
Kidney disease, renal failure
Transsexualism
The American Health Care Act, as the House Republican health care bill is called, does not explicitly eliminate ACA's coverage guarantee.
But the bill would allow states to obtain a waiver from the federal government to eliminate another ACA mandate that prohibits insurers from charging people with preexisting medical conditions more for insurance.
That means that some people with preexisting medical conditions could see their premiums spike dramatically, if the House bill becomes law.
In other words, a patient with diabetes, heart disease or cancer might still be "guaranteed" coverage, but only if he or she agreed to pay five or 10 times as much for a health plan.
