Early in my career as a lawyer, I did a lot of work for insurance companies. I once had a case that provoked considerable laughter: a man was building an addition to his motel. He talked with his insurance agent about builders risk insurance, which would cover the structure while it was under construction, but decided not to buy it. One night, the structure caught fire and burned to the ground. The next morning at eight o'clock, the man was at his insurance agent's office, saying that he wanted to buy that builders risk coverage after all.

Once the facts became clear, of course, we won the case. You can't buy insurance against something that has already happened. You can try to make someone else pay your bills, maybe, but you can't buy insurance. The fact that that plaintiff's building had burned down was a preexisting condition.

It's no wonder that health insurance policies have historically excluded coverage for preexisting conditions. You can insure against the risk that you might get cancer, but if you already have cancer, it's not a risk, it's a