Here’s a definition of pre-existing conditions from WikiAnswers.
A pre-existing condition is a medical condition that existed before you obtained health insurance. In most cases, there is a 9 month waiting period for pre-existing medical condition coverage. That means that if a company offers you coverage, they may not provide coverage for that specific pre-existing medical condition for 9 - 12 months.
In many cases, if have had coverage in place for at least 18 months with no more than a 63 day gap in coverage, and you are just switching insurance companies, the new company will give you credit for having coverage in place and waive the waiting periods for your conditions. This allows you to switch plans if you need to.
The rationale for these policies is that medical insurance works the same way other insurances do-that medical insurance is to protect yourself in case something bad happens. You need to have coverage in place before something bad happens. An analogy is that just like you can’t buy auto insurance after an accident to cover the cost of the accident, medical insurance only covers issues that arise unexpectedly after coverage has begun.
Very good answer !! Also remember that insurance is to cover things you aren’t able to pay for upfront.
Where were all these people before they had a “pre-existing” condition. If they were chose not to be insured they gambled and they lost.
I was unemployed & under employed for 18 months back in 1996. I thought enough of my family to at least keep catastrophic insurance on them with a month to month policy.