That’s the hope of many people in the USA where at the moment anyone with a serious pre-existing illness can be declined health insurance.

The idea behind President Barak Obama’s healthcare law is to stop anyone who exhibits a pre-existing condition from being declined getting insurance cover. However the changes will not come into force untill 2014.

In the meantime declination rates as they are known, are still high in the US where treatment is often withheld by hospitals unless the patient can prove he or she can pay or has insurance.

Analysts, HealthPocket looked at 9,000 plans offered by health insurance companies. It found a number of interesting facts.

For instance, HealthPocket suggest that there is no uniformity across the industry as to who will get cover and who will not. This could be the same in the UK as well.

In general though, the average rate of being declined by an insurance firm is around 20% across the USA. However in many states such as Idaho, the figure is much higher at 56%.

South Dakota records an even higher declination rate at 73%.

HealthPocket while shocked at the variation in rates are unsure why this is happening.

One suggestion is that many companies may be profiteering by declining as many people as possible to ensure that only those who are not high risk remain on the insurance companies books.

HealthPocket while having no proof of this believes that if this blatant profiteering is going on it simply means they are trying to make as much money as possible before the Obama care regulations come in next year.

Health insurance costs in the UK have also been steadily rising in recent years. With many people fearing the end of the NHS as we know it, it is thought by some that health insurance firms in Britain are trying to reap the rewards early.