In their burgeoning promotion of Fauxbamacare -- promises to repeal the ACA while retaining its most popular features, without specifying how -- dozens of Republican incumbents and candidates are promising to maintain affordable coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. Small wonder: approval of the provision is at 70% nationally, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's March poll.
Of course, Republicans also love to bash the ACA for driving up the cost of private-market insurance for the unsubsidized. They blame the rise -- which is real for those who earn too much to qualify for ACA subsidies and have no pre-existing conditions in their household -- on the ACA's new rules for what all insurance policies must cover, which took full effect on Jan. 1, 2014.
Here's the thing, though. Guaranteed issue -- the prohibition against varying the price or scope of insurance on the basis of the buyer's health and medical history -- is the prime driver of the increase in the base price of private insurance triggered by the ACA.
Of course, Republicans also love to bash the ACA for driving up the cost of private-market insurance for the unsubsidized. They blame the rise -- which is real for those who earn too much to qualify for ACA subsidies and have no pre-existing conditions in their household -- on the ACA's new rules for what all insurance policies must cover, which took full effect on Jan. 1, 2014.
Here's the thing, though. Guaranteed issue -- the prohibition against varying the price or scope of insurance on the basis of the buyer's health and medical history -- is the prime driver of the increase in the base price of private insurance triggered by the ACA.
