Under Trumpcare, surviving a gunshot wounds gives you a "pre-existing condition"

More than 1 million people have been non-fatally shot in the USA since 2000: all of them would have uninsurable pre-existing conditions in the eyes of insurers if Trumpcare passes.


These people would be forced to use emergency rooms for routine care, and default on their bills, raising costs for everyone else.


Among gunshot survivors, 51-year-old House Majority Whip Steve Scalise is an outlier. Such victims are more likely to be low-earning black men between the ages of 15 and 24. Scalise, who is white, does share one fundamental characteristic with these younger men: Being shot means he now has a preexisting condition in the eyes of health insurers.

For most people, that status could mean more financial suffering under a Republican rollback of the Affordable Care Act.

Don't Expect Health Coverage If You Survive a Gunshot Wound
[Suzanne Woolley/Bloomberg]