In their various health plans, Republicans want to roll back protections for people with pre-existing conditions. A study by the Center for American Progress shows us how many people would be harmed by this policy in each of our six Congressional districts.
As explained by CAP:
Republicans are now discussing a provision that is effectively a sick tax on premiums: People with health conditions would be charged multiples more based on their medical history, paying above-standard rates for coverage. Even if the new plan preserved the ACA’s rules on guaranteed issue—meaning that issuers cannot deny coverage—consumers with pre-existing conditions could still be priced out of the market.
About 50% of Americans have some sort of pre-existing condition, including as many as 1 in 4 children. And of course, the percentages go up as people get older, hitting 84% of those 55 to 64. Most of the plans put forward by Republicans would let insurers put those people into high-risk, high-premium pools, instead of spreading the risk over the larger pool of all insureds.
From the CAP study, here are the numbers of people with pre-existing conditions in each of our state’s Congressional districts. The next time you speak with, or write to, your Congress-person, ask them if they think this many people need to be financially punished for having a pre-existing condition:
| District | Children | Total |
| James Comer (KY-1) | 38,600 | 280,100 |
| Brett Guthrie (KY-2) | 41,600 | 304,500 |
| John A. Yarmuth (KY-3) | 39,500 | 309,700 |
| Thomas Massie (KY-4) | 43,200 | 313,400 |
| Harold Rogers (KY-5) | 37,500 | 272,500 |
| Andy Barr (KY-6) | 40,000 | 315,300 |
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