Health Care Reform FAQ

Health Care Reform FAQ
Can Republicans really repeal it? Does it violate the 10th Amendment? How, exactly, does it reduce the deficit?
By Christopher Beam
Posted Monday, March 22, 2010, at 6:37 PM ET

The House of Representatives passed health care reform Sunday night. This new legislation will extend coverage to millions of uninsured Americans, prohibit insurers from discriminating against sick people, and reduce the federal deficit in the coming decades, according to official estimates. Yet many questions remain unanswered. Here's a sampling.

Say I have a pre-existing condition. Can I get affordable insurance now?

Wait three months. The requirement that insurance companies take any and all comers—known as "guaranteed issue"—doesn't kick in until Jan. 1, 2014. But the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act allocates $5 billion for the establishment of "high risk pools" within 90 days across the country. These group insurance plans will provide coverage only for people with pre-existing conditions who can't find insurance through normal avenues. By law, they must take all eligible applicants and can't charge more than the standard rates.

more...

http://www.slate.com/id/2248560/

Where did the term 'preexisting condition' come from? It's a term invented by insurance companies to increase profits. It is not a health care term.

don't matter; getting rid of charging for whatever ails or ailed someone is what's happening, and that's good enough for me.