The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has made it illegal for health insurance companies to deny coverage or charge more due to a pre-existing condition. This applies to both collectively negotiated and non-collectively negotiated plans. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, between 50 and 129 million (19 to 50 percent) of non-elderly Americans have some type of pre-existing health condition. If your situation changes, such as getting married, having a baby, or losing health coverage, you may be eligible for a special enrollment period, allowing you to enroll in health insurance outside of the annual open enrollment period. Under the ACA, health insurers are not allowed to deny coverage or charge more due to pre-existing conditions, such as asthma, diabetes or cancer, or because of pregnancy.
As a result, the proportion of people enrolled with health problems in the individual insurance market tends to be lower than in other markets. The only exception to the pre-existing coverage rule are individual health insurance plans with acquired rights, the ones you take out yourself, not through an employer. A “pre-existing condition” is a health condition that exists before someone applies for or enrolls in a new health insurance policy. So, can you switch to a different insurer's network of plans without losing coverage for pre-existing conditions? The answer is yes. Under the ACA, health insurance companies are not allowed to deny coverage or charge more due to pre-existing conditions. This means that you can switch to a different insurer's network of plans without losing coverage for pre-existing conditions.
