One of the key elements in President Barack Obama's health care reform proposal would eliminate the ability of private insurers to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions.

David Miller, the owner of Midtowne Market, has been struggling to insure himself and his employees. He hurt his back when he was 23.

"[I] was out for at least a week, getting MRI's, CAT scans, all that good stuff," says Miller.

He was covered under his mother's insurance plan until he turned 25. Then he was dropped.

When he tried to insure himself, he says, "They declined. They said no."

Since he was on his own, Miller says his back problem from a couple years ago had become a pre-existing health condition in the eyes of the insurance company.

"They canceled my plan because of the condition, and then it [became] a pre-existing condition, really clever," says Miller.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 21 percent of people who apply for health insurance on their own get turned down, end up being offered a plan that doesn't even cover their pre-existing health condition, or charged a higher price.

Insurance agent Stuart Hatter says they also face another issue.

"If they have [pre-existing conditions], they're kicked into another risk class, which makes it more expensive for them too, obviously. So, you kind of have a double whammy there," says Hatter.

Miller eventually got insurance by going on a group plan with his employees. However, with rising costs, that coverage is now in jeopardy.

"We just can't afford it. Our inventory prices are going up. Costs of goods sold are going up. People have a threshold. I can only charge so much. And health insurance is just ridiculously expensive," says Miller.

The health insurance industry's trade association has put out a plan it say will help people with pre-existing conditions. However, it also says all American would have to purchase coverage to keep premiums down.