Forcing health insurance companies to write policies for people with preexisting conditions is like forcing car insurance companies to write policies for drivers after they have had an accident—and to pay for repairs stemming from the accident.
If drivers could wait until they had an accident to get insurance, they would. Likewise, a homeowner would not insure the home until it had burned to the ground. A boat owner would not insure the vessel until it had sunk. The list is endless.
This is the actuarial foundation of insurance: A large group of people pay a small amount of money, knowing that the insurer will pay a much larger sum, if needed. If no one pays premiums until they have a claim, the system does not work.
In its present form, the new healthcare system will not work, because it defies actuarial reality.
The actuarial basis of health insurance is inherently fair. Nonsmokers should not have to pay as much as smokers do since their behavior as a population yields fewer claims, and because of actuarial pricing, they do not. The same goes for obesity: Those who watch their weight pay significantly less than those who don’t. The list goes on, and pricing follows. If a health insurance company names its own pricing, it can only mean one thing: it is in business. Insurance is pricing.