joG
DP Veteran
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Pre-existing conditions (like age and tobacco use) are simply actuarial risk factors which are commonly used to set premium rate tiers by insurance companies. What has yet to be explained is why some (like age and tobacco use) are considered "good" while others (like diabetes or obesity) are considered "bad" under PPACA. High risk pools are not a bad idea - each insurance company must accept its "fair share" (based on its share of the total market) of the least desirable (those with the highest acturail risk) at a predefined maximum premium rate.
There are a lot of points to cover there, but in general terms that covers the political question.