27% of Americans today would be uninsurable pre-ACA, Kaiser Family Foundation finds

Fifty-two million adults under age 65 have pre-existing conditions that would have likely made them uninsurable before the ACA eliminated pre-existing conditions, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The analysis found 27 percent of the U.S. population has a condition — like diabetes, cancer or stroke — that under previous medical underwriting practices would render the individual uninsurable. KFF examined data from the National Health Interview Survey and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, as well as consulted underwriting manuals used in the individual market before the ACA removed pre-existing conditions.

Here are four study findings.

1. In 11 states, at least 30 percent of non-elderly adults would have a declinable condition pre-ACA, ranging from West Virginia (36 percent) to Tennessee (32 percent) to Kansas (30 percent).  

2. The three states with the most people estimated to have pre-existing conditions are California (5.9 million) Texas (4.5 million) and Florida (3.1 million).

3. Colorado and Minnesota have the lowest number of individuals with pre-existing conditions, with at least 22 percent of adults under age 65 having declinable conditions.  

4. KFF projects the estimates are conservative, as the survey does not include details about several declinable conditions before the ACA like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. 

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