Fading health care

Regarding “A not-so-subtle move to end Obamacare,” (Page A11, Tuesday), columnist Ruth Marcus warns us that the current administration is whittling away and destroying Obamacare (the ACA), including the protections for pre-existing conditions. People need to understand what pre-existing conditions really meant before Obamacare.

Pre-existing conditions were not just things like cancer or diabetes or asthma. They included minor conditions like hay fever or nothing at all. Years ago, before the ACA, I tried to purchase insurance coverage between jobs, but I was denied coverage because in the past I had had a biopsy that turned out to be benign. There was nothing wrong with me, but the insurance company labelled that normal biopsy a pre-existing condition. Also, my friend’s daughter was denied coverage because she talked to a therapist one time after her boyfriend had broken up with her. That 30-minute conversation with a therapist was considered a pre-existing condition.

Yes, before the ACA, insurance companies could deny even young, healthy people coverage, and they did. Now the current administration is taking away these protections without providing us with a replacement. I don’t think people know what is going on yet, but unfortunately, they will, and I hope it won’t be too late.

Nancy Rilling, Houston