Accepting pre-existing conditions is one of the things that have driven the cost of insurance up and I would disagree with you that it was a good thing to allow it. I do however believe that they could have and should have allowed exceptions for certain life long health issues to be insured and in the case like you mentioned above.

The failure of Obama care was in the way they wanted to implement it and the why. It is all geared to doing the initial dirt work/ foundation work for a European style single payer system. Gov't rules and controls and mandates such as those put into place with Obama Scare are required first before any socialist type system is put into place...along with leading a hearts and mind campaign on younger people to change their way of thinking. Progressive Movement slow fade plan.

Our health care system isn't broken. Best care to the most people ever in history. The legal system and insurance industry are what needed to be fixed. The American consumer culture also needs some sharp correction.
A litigious society has driven up medical malpractice and other personal injury claims where it has increased the cost of care.
Insurance is being abused and overused. Insurance fraud along with over billing by providers to milk the system increases costs. I've got a cold and its 10 pm...ER VISIT! Woohoo.
American consumer overall is greedy and wants everything paid for. Healthcare providers try to cover rising cost with higher costs for services.
Rampant Rx for drugs to fix every little thing.
Lack of common sense preventative care leads to huge costs down the road.
This makes "healthcare" expensive.

If the goal of Obama Care was to really make an impact for those who could not afford or get insurance, then a special gov't plan could have been made available for anyone who wanted coverage but could n't get it. Rather than screwing up everything for everyone else, they could have set up something. But that would not fit the agenda of a single payer goal.

Health Insurance needs to be more like car insurance & extended warranties on vehicles: Reserved for accidents, Injuries or major medical conditions only. There isn't car insurance coverage for oil changes, new tires, interior or exterior detailing, new wiper blades, batteries, brake pads, ripped seats, scratches from normal wear and tear, standard maintenance or mechanical failures of any kind. Now there may be limited engine, transmission, major components covered under a warranty---big ticket items. People know they have a personal responsibility to pay for their vehicle and not everything is an insurance/warranty issue. Health insurance needs to be more like this. Regular DR visits, preventive care checkups, immunizations, consultations, basic care should all be out of pocket only. Insurance should be reserved for major injuries, illnesses, or advanced care only. This would drastically reduced insurance costs and put people in charge of spending their own $$--which will creat an environment to make wise choices on what you spend and where. Right now there is no incentive to not file an insurance claim on the mundane everyday stuff. People flock to the DR for every little thing...which is fine...but they expect insurance to cover every little thing. In my opinion this is the biggest issue with "health care".

I am self employed, pay my BCBS out of pocket, and Obamacare caused my monthly Gold plan to go from
$330 a month to over a $1000 per month. I dropped back to the silver just to keep it right under $1000. Of course
the deductible went from $500 to $2500.

Liberals being the idiot socialists that they are simply don't understand (or care ) that vastly restricting supply while
mandating an increase in demand and heaping thousands of new regulations on health care providers and insurance companies = soaring prices.

My self employed premium is 1600 per month for 3 healthy people. Obamacare=nope

Good theory, but I bet it would lead to folks not keeping up with their preventive care. This, in turn, would lead to more numerous major illnesses. Sort of a catch 22.