bigdeal
Yes, but what was hapening was often when people became sick insurance companies found reasons to drop them.
furthermore what you state isnt quite true. Individual plans were always alowed to exclude preexisting conditions. and even group plans were only not allowed to restrict those peopl if they hadnt gone 63 days wihtout coverage. But if they had gone 63 days without coverage say, after switching employers, (perhaps waiting for new benefits to kick in, or if they spent time looking for new work) then the new group policy could exclude them for any “preexisting condition”
This was the law as in place since HIPPA 1997