> Aren't you comparing conditionally-issued insurance with guaranteed-issue health insurance? In addition to guaranteed issue, the Obamacare plans have (1) an

> Aren't you comparing conditionally-issued insurance with guaranteed-issue health insurance? In addition to guaranteed issue, the Obamacare plans have (1) an annual out-of-pocket limit (2) no annual or lifetime limit on benefits (3) an absolute right to renewal. These features raise the cost substantially compared to previous plans on the individual market. The classic example is if you get cancer and need $2 million in treatment. If your plan had 20% coinsurance, or a $1 million lifetime limit, then you'd be in rough shape. And if the insurance company dropped you when you got sick, on the grounds that you forgot to disclose some trivial and unrelated illness on your application, then you'd be in really rough shape. The things that make Obamacare expensive are the features that don't show up on the sticker -- because they are now required of all plans. Guaranteed issue is the major one, because they prevent sick people from being washed out of the actuarial pool. All of these features are things that you hope you will never need to "take advantage" of. If you waste your money buying them, that's actually not a bad outcome.