> If the insurance then turns around and kicks those affected out, it is reneging not only on the spirit of the contract, but on its entire raison d'être.
It's not reneging, assuming they make you whole on the loss.
If I wreck my car, and I have insurance, I will be reimbursed for my loss. There's no expectation at that point that I will necessarily keep my coverage, or keep it at the same premium, now that I have demonstrated that I am a higher risk.
For health insurance, it's a bit different because some diseases can't be cured, and it's harder to put a dollar amount on the "loss" incurred. For example, if I develop diabetes, that may be something that has to be managed for the rest of my life, and has various other side effects such as circulatory problems. But, we have data; there are lifetime averages for this sort of thing, and they can be computed into the actuarial risk profile. As long as you acquire the insurance before you incur the loss, the model works.
> nearly the entire developed world has some sort of public health insurance
We should not call it insurance when that's not what it is, though. If you have a disease (preexisting) the insurance model doesn't work, any more than it would work to sell homeowners insurance to people whose houses are currently on fire. The risk of loss to the insurer goes from "actuarial probability" to "100%"
The solution to preexisting conditions is usually mandated coverage. This way, since you always have insurance, you can't be blamed for only getting insurance when you need it.
This still doesn't allow people who get a condition to upgrade their insurance. Allowing this amounts to socialized health-care. An alternative is to make such coverage part of the mandatory package. This way, it is still insurance. This is only as socialist as insurance inherently is (i.e. the unlucky being covered by the lucky).
The big issue here is 'liberty', but if you hold that no-one should die because they cant access health care, and don't want to make healthcare free, mandated insurance is the only option.
It's not reneging, assuming they make you whole on the loss.
If I wreck my car, and I have insurance, I will be reimbursed for my loss. There's no expectation at that point that I will necessarily keep my coverage, or keep it at the same premium, now that I have demonstrated that I am a higher risk.
For health insurance, it's a bit different because some diseases can't be cured, and it's harder to put a dollar amount on the "loss" incurred. For example, if I develop diabetes, that may be something that has to be managed for the rest of my life, and has various other side effects such as circulatory problems. But, we have data; there are lifetime averages for this sort of thing, and they can be computed into the actuarial risk profile. As long as you acquire the insurance before you incur the loss, the model works.
> nearly the entire developed world has some sort of public health insurance
We should not call it insurance when that's not what it is, though. If you have a disease (preexisting) the insurance model doesn't work, any more than it would work to sell homeowners insurance to people whose houses are currently on fire. The risk of loss to the insurer goes from "actuarial probability" to "100%"