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There are two basic types of preexisting conditions and neither is insurable: the condition where a person was never insured and wishes to become insured on the way to the hospital, and the condition where a person has a chronic illness requiring expensive, ongoing treatment.
Few (hopefully) would argue that the first problem is worth anyones sympathy or tax dollars, but the second problem engenders sympathy from many and has caused us to give up our liberty to solve. Chronic illnesses costing perhaps thousands of dollars per month through no fault of the patient is a situation none of us would wish to find ourselves.
But consider: if a chronic illness costs, say, $10,000 per month to treat (perhaps for life), what would the premium have to be in order to cover it?
Obviously, anything less than $10,000 per month is a loss, yet that's just the start. An insurance company must cover it's overhead and a profit as well if it hopes to stay in business.
So what's being discussed here is not “insurance” at all, but a welfare benefit - and that's the key. We're allowing this problem to be defined as something it's not.