In 1993 in Alabama, my wife and I were both employed by the same employer. The employer went bankrupt. When we looked into COBRA we found it was not available, because COBRA only regulates an existing insurance contract. In bankruptcy, the contract is suspended, hence no COBRA. Because of my unique medical history, I found it impossible to buy any health insurance for myself, at any price; my solution was to enroll as a UAB student solely to be able to qualify for the student health insurance. To cover my wife and two small children, I bought a family policy that covered them, but not me--although I was the policy holder and responsible for the premiums. THE MORAL OF THE STORY: employment-linked health insurance is a very bad idea. COBRA is more expensive even when it's available, and COBRA IS NOT ALWAYS AVAILABLE! In addition, it makes no sense at all from a public health standpoint to give to insurance companies the ability to cherry-pick their liabilities by excluding pre-existing conditions. As far as I'm concerned, the insurance industry has proven itself a poor steward steward of the public interest, and it does not deserve a place at the table for reform discussions. I support HR 676, and I think it's time to confront this issue instead of letting political fiction color the discussion.