New Report Outlines Importance of Health Insurance Reform for Young Americans

Sep 22nd, 2009

The federal department of Health and Human Services recently released a new report, Young Americans and Health Insurance Reform: Giving Young Americans the Security and Stability They Need, highlighting the vulnerability young adults face in the current health care system and the urgent need for health insurance reform.

While seventeen percent of adults (those aged 30-64) are uninsured, thirty percent of young adults do not have health insurance. When young adults lose access to their parents' health insurance, they find it increasingly difficult to afford the high cost of health insurance.

Young adults are often less likely to work for employers who offer health insurance benefits. Nearly half of young people work part-time, and part-time workers are less likely to be offered coverage. Young people are also more likely to work for smaller firms, which tend to offer less coverage. Among young adults working in firms of fewer than 50 employees and who had coverage in 2006, one in four lost that insurance in the following two years - more than twice the rate of older adults.

The report also shows that 33 states allowed insurance companies to charge unrestricted premiums based on age, health status and even gender. In some states, a 22-year-old woman can be charged twice as much for her premium than a 22-year-old man.

The health care status quo is significantly impacting young Americans. In a recent survey, two-thirds who had gaps in healthcare admitted to forsaking health care because of costs including skipping recommended tests and treatment and neglecting to fill a prescription. Even with cost-saving measures, more than one-third of all young adults with coverage report having problems paying medical bills.

Read the full report here.

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