52 Million Adults Have Medical Conditions That Were Uninsurable Before Obamacare

About 52 million adults under age 65 have preexisting health conditions that would have likely be uninsurable before 2010 before “Obamacare,” or the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), became law. The 52 million people represent about 27% of adults between ages 18 and 64. Before the PPACA insurance-related provisions went into effect in 2014, private insurers in the individual health insurance market could use applicants’ health status, health history and other risk factors to determine whether and under what terms to issue coverage. People with the following conditions were often automatically denied coverage: cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, heart . . .