Study: More than 370,000 county residents with pre-existing conditions will be impacted by health care decision

By Brian Nordli

Wednesday, July 25, 2012 | 2 a.m.

In two years, more than 370,000 non-elderly Clark County residents with pre-existing health conditions will be able to cross health insurance coverage off their list of worries.

The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act on June 28 protects people with pre-existing health issues from discrimination when applying for health insurance. A report issued by consumer health group Families USA on Tuesday found that the protection would impact 527,000 non-elderly residents with pre-existing health issues in Nevada, 371,800 of them in Clark County.

The report found that under the current policy, about 1 in every 4 people with a pre-existing health condition is at risk to not receive coverage. The new policy, which begins in January 2014, assures that they will not be denied health insurance coverage, charged a higher premium or be excluded from important health services.

“More than 527,000 Nevadans now have the peace of mind and security they want for themselves and their families because they can no longer be denied coverage by an insurance company just because their doctor diagnosed a health problem,” Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, said in a press release on Tuesday.

The study focused only on Nevadans diagnosed or treated for specific pre-existing health conditions that are most likely to result in denied coverage in 2009 (the most recent year of available statistics). Those diseases include heart disease, cancer and diabetes, among others.

The report detailed the impact the Affordable Care Act would have on Nevadans diagnosed with pre-existing health conditions based on age, income and race. It found that nearly all races and income levels were equally likely to have a pre-existing condition and be denied health insurance.

Age, however, played a major role. The report found that the new policy would impact the older age groups most because they were most likely to have a pre-existing condition. Adults ages 45 to 64 make up 48 percent of the population of non-elderly residents living with a pre-existing condition while 18- to 34-year-olds make up just 24 percent.

The report indicated that the new policy would allow these individuals access to health insurance they would otherwise be denied under the present plan.

Under the current plan, the report said that many uninsured citizens avoid health care due to extensive cost, forego preventative treatments like cancer screenings and rarely receive treatment outside of an emergency room. They also are more likely to go bankrupt from health care costs to treat their condition or remain in one job just for the health insurance.

Families USA’s report indicates that the new policy would help alleviate these issues for people with pre-existing conditions.