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but I also think denying someone because of a pre-existing condition is wrong.

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Absolutely. Remember, we have medicare because insurance companies refused to cover old people (for the same reason they refuse to cover pre-existers).

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Remember, we have medicare because insurance companies refused to cover old people

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Did they refuse to cover them, or did they cover them at a higher cost?

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or did they cover them at a higher cost?

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There's a difference between outright refusing coverage, and charging a premium for coverage that is equivalent to the risk. Naturally, insurance coverage for someone with a family history of heart problems would be higher than that of someone without that history. The coverage is there...just for a different premium.

That's what's so fricking ridiculous about Obamacare and it's scuttling of pre-existing conditions. Now EVERYONE gets to pay what the chain-smoking, overweight fried food eater would be charged because you can't charge them differently.

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Additionally people who are not suddenly injured and who have been ill for a duration of time will also be able to get coverage provided they had continuos coverage in the past and somehow lost it (lost work coverage, plan expired, etc...)

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I've thought something like this would work for a while. Just allow a certain amount of time between health insurance coverage where you'll still cover a condition discovered during that time, make it a year or something, if they were covered up to that point. If someone never had health insurance before diagnosis, or went years without, they lose pre-existing condition coverage. You'd give people a cushion while they're out of work or whatever, while discouraging the irresponsible.

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I also think denying someone because of a pre-existing condition is wrong.

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Then you do not understand what insurance is.

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I also think denying someone because of a pre-existing condition is wrong

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This is a very simplistic example, but let's say someone finds out they have cancer. They have no insurance. They look to the insurance companies for coverage.

Let's assume for the sake of the argument/simplicity, that their medical bills will be roughly 10k a month. What premium should they be charged? Should the insurance company be forced to charge them less than that and take a loss, thus footing the bill for expenses with that individual having paid nothing into it?

Obviously I (along with most others) don't want people to just die off because they can't afford coverage, but at this point, why even buy insurance?

If government is going to help people who can't afford it, then they need to HEAVILY PENALIZE individuals who do not take measures to keep themselves healthy. Want to smoke a pack a day? Drink every night? Eat enough calories to make you obese? Fine, but you're going to pay for it. People have to start being personally responsible for their own well being.

Insurance isn't a coupon or a savings voucher and it needs to stop being treated as such.

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This is a very simplistic example, but let's say someone finds out they have cancer. They have no insurance. They look to the insurance companies for coverage. Let's assume for the sake of the argument/simplicity, that their medical bills will be roughly 10k a month. What premium should they be charged?

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Pretty much they are doomed to just die.

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If government is going to help people who can't afford it, then they need to HEAVILY PENALIZE individuals who do not take measures to keep themselves healthy.

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Cancer, or a lot of illnesses for that matter, aren't always someone's fault.

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Want to smoke a pack a day? Drink every night? Eat enough calories to make you obese?

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You do understand that we as a society are driven to do these things in order to grow the economy for the sake of growing the economy, right?

Without over-consumption, our economy would collapse - or at least look a LOT different.

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If you wrecked your car today, would you go buy insurance for it tomorrow and expect it to fix your fender?

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Of course not. But that's the problem. We shouldn't be using models of insurance to repair cars to be dictating how we handle health issues.

American healthcare would be better if health insurance companies just ceased to exist all together. Eliminate them and streamline the system.