Profitable insurance companies aren’t stupid. They know that the best way to remain profitable is to deny coverage to people who might actually need it. For health insurance, that means people with preexisting conditions — that is, up to 13 percent of America.

Americans with chronic health conditions who lose their health insurance face bankruptcy. Bankrupt, they can’t even take care of themselves, let alone their children, or future generations of unborn children. They’ll die sooner than they need to, and they won’t be able to provide the next generation with the education or values they hold dear. I live in great fear that this will happen to me. And I know I have a lot of company.

This year’s winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, Paul Krugman, pointed out in an October 6 column that deregulating the insurance industry would jeopardize health coverage for those with preexisting conditions.  As Krugman explained, under McCain’s plan, “the people losing insurance would be those who need it most: lower-income workers who wouldn’t be able to afford individual insurance even with the tax credit, and Americans with health problems whom insurance companies won’t cover.”

Right now that certainly means PKD, but it also means cancer cases that are in remission, old sports injuries, being 20 pounds over- or underweight, and even having acne — almost anything at all. In the near future, pre-existing conditions will knock out even more people, as genetic research uncovers predisposition for all manner of conditions whose chromosomal links are now unknown.

Deregulating insurance companies means exposing millions of hardworking Americans to bankruptcy and early death. It’s bad policy, and we should oppose it with every fiber of our kidneys.

Even if you oppose abortion, you should support Obama. Obama’s approach to health care will best ensure Americans’ ability to take care of their children. He’s the real pro-life candidate. — Kenny