I understand and sympathize with your position and I truly don't have the answer. People in general feel "entitled" and not "responsible" when it comes to health care; it's not just the younger generation. But health care is not a right - no one is entitled to the services (doctor) of another human being. People like to talk about a government program and single-payer systems. I can tell you first hand that doctors in general will not go along with this. Many will just ignore the "system" and open boutique health care offices as many already have done so. Yes, they are catering to the "rich" or at least those who can pay without insurance. But, you can't force a doctor to treat anyone or to accept a dictated fee. The OP used the phrase "swaddled in Medicare" but even that is precarious. Many doctors simply refuse to accept Medicare's low reimbursement rates. It will only get worse as more and more try to get services under that system.
However, from an INSURANCE standpoint, pre-existing conditions are anathema. Notice that I did not say that people should not have access to health care. Please do not confuse and intertwine "insurance" and "health care"; they are distinctly different issues.
Insurance is a product you buy to mitigate the economic risk of an unpredictable event or condition. Auto insurance is a perfect example. It covers costs related to unpredictable events (accidents). However, no one calls their insurance company for an oil change or engine repair. These are maintenance items and are borne by the owner. Those who don't maintain their cars have higher maintenance costs.
What concerns me is health care related to improper maintenance. NO ONE should be paying for oxygen generators for those who were foolish enough to smoke (except the smoker). NO ONE should be paying for weight loss programs for generously proportioned people (except that person). You get the idea. And smokers (even ex-smokers) should have higher deductibles for ALL care or outright denied insurance. Again, insurance mitigates risk. Smoking (example) eliminates risk and makes bad health a certainty (lungs, liver, pancreas, bone, throat, etc); it harms EVERYTHING.
For an insurance company to pay for health care due to an pre-existing condition, they would no longer be insurance companies. People are trying to change insurance companies into a government program. Obama was the worst offender in this regard. Even he knew that you had to force everyone to participate in order to fund all the pre-existing conditions. Why? Because it is then no longer "insurance" but rather a "health transfer" program; make the healthy pay for the unhealthy.
So, that's basically the end of my rant. Including pre-existing conditions requires us to absolve the use of the term insurance and come up with a new word ... something akin to welfare ... or medicare / medicaid.
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