From the article:
Costs for those with coverage could go up because people in poor health who'd been shut out of the insurance pool would now be included, and they would get medical care they could not access before.
And
The health care debate is full of such trade-offs. For example, limiting the premiums that insurance companies can charge 50-year-olds means that 20-year-olds have to pay more for coverage.
Interestingly, these are characteristics of the health plan that many people have clamored for ... the health plan that Congress has.
The Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan is available to all eligible federal employees and retirees regardless of their current health (pre-existing condition), and as a federal retiree, I pay the same premium that a newly-hired 20-something federal employee pays for the same plan.
I've been covered by the same health plan for the last 35+ years. Other than the birth of our two children, I would say that we used our health insurance minimally - we've been blessed with relatively good health. Now that my wife and I are older and retired, we anticipate using our health insurance more.
The more people are covered by a particular plan, the more that plan can absorb the additional costs associated with serious illnesses, injuries, and other conditions since they would also have more healthy people covered who would be paying premiums but not using their coverage excessively.
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