If you were wondering why health care was one of the most important issues in the 2018 congressional campaign, the chart above can help explain it. Obamacare denied the ability of insurance companies to refuse coverage (or charge substantially more for coverage) for people who have a pre-existing health condition. The Republicans tried to overturn Obamacare without protecting pre-existing conditions, and currently are in court trying to remove that requirement for insurance companies.
Once they saw that they were being killed on health care in the campaign, Republicans tried to claim they would protect people with pre-existing conditions -- but the public knew better. They voted for the party (Democrats) that they knew would protect those pre-existing conditions.
Why? Because a significant portion of the American populace either has a pre-existing condition, or a member of their family has one -- about 44% (or nearly half of the population).
The chart above reflects the results of a fairly recent Gallup Poll -- done between November 1st and 11th of a national sample of 1,037 adults, with a 4 point margin of error.
