The new counting rules could leave patients with costly preexisting conditions out in the cold, Tolbert and Pollitz say. That’s because the rules don’t recognize that the bulk of healthcare expenses are incurred by a small portion of the population — 20% of all patients account for 80% of spending. So a state could meet the Trump standards even if it cut loose some high-cost patients and covered more at the low-cost end of the spectrum.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 11, 2018 22:18 UTC