A new Commonwealth Fund survey indicates almost half of all young adults are skipping necessary medical treatments due to cost considerations.
According to the 2010 Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey, 45 percent of those surveyed are passing on needed medical care – a sharp increase from the 32 percent reported in 2001.
Help is on the way, however. A provision in the Affordable Care Act that allows those under the age of 26 to remain on their parents' health plans is expected to increase coverage in 2011. When that provision goes into full effect in 2014, 12.1 million of the 14.8 million currently without insurance could be covered.
[See also: New HHS regulation to keep young adults insured; Health reform law could cover 13.7M uninsured young adults]
"This is not an easy time for young adults – they are struggling to find employment in a difficult job market, and are among the age groups hardest hit by rising healthcare costs," said Sara Collins, the Commonwealth Fund's vice president and lead author of the report. "But the Affordable Care Act has made things better for hundreds of thousands of young people, including this year's college graduates, many of whom can remain on or join their parents' plans until they find a job that provides health insurance. In the past, these young people would have had to go without insurance or pay high prices for bare-bones coverage on the individual market."
Among all age groups, the report showed that adults age 18 to 26 have more problems affording care (45 percent) than adults age 50 to 64 (36 percent). As a result, they aren't filling prescriptions, going to the doctor when sick or seeing a specialist when necessary, and they're not getting follow-up treatment recommended by a doctor.
Young adults in low- and moderate-income families experienced the greatest deterioration in their ability to gain timely healthcare over the past decade. According to the study, 53 percent of young adults with incomes of less than 100 percent of the federal poverty level ($10,830 for a single person) delayed needed healthcare because of the cost, up from nearly one-in-three who reported forgoing care in 2001.
Uninsured young adults had the hardest time affording the healthcare they needed – 58 percent delayed getting needed care due to cost, compared to 34 percent of young adults who were insured all year. In addition, 52 percent of uninsured young adults had problems with medical bills or debt, compared to 25 percent of insured young adults. In all, the report estimated there were more than 14.8 million uninsured young adults in 2009, an increase of nearly 4 million in just 10 years.
The report noted that provisions of the Affordable Care Act should significantly cut into the high rate of uninsured in this age group in the coming years. Specific ACA provisions that will affect the number of young adults with health insurance include:
- Allowing young adults remain on or join their parents' health plans up to age 26 (effective in 2010);
- Requiring college health plans to meet new standards, starting in 2012;
- Significantly expanding Medicaid eligibility to cover all adults with incomes below 133 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) beginning in 2014; and
- Creating new state health insurance exchanges with subsidized private insurance for people with low and moderate incomes up to 399 percent of the FPL, beginning in 2014.
According to estimates from the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury, roughly 1.7 million young adults will become covered under their parents' health insurance by 2013 – nearly 1 million of which were previously uninsured.
Awareness of the provision may be spurring even faster adoption, as five of the country's largest insurers reported an increase in enrollment of 600,000 young adults in the first three months of this year. Wellpoint alone saw its ranks of insured young adults rise by 280,000, accounting for roughly one-third of its enrollment growth over that period.
Not surprisingly, young adults gave the new requirement high marks. According to the study, 68 percent of adults age 19 to 29 said being able to maintain their health insurance coverage upon graduation from high school or college is either a major or minor improvement in the healthcare system.
"Young adults are among the groups most in need of the Affordable Care Act – being uninsured or unable to afford healthcare puts their health and long-term financial security at risk," said Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis. "However, things are changing for the better, and in 2014, nearly all young adults will have access to the comprehensive and affordable health insurance they need, allowing them to pursue their life and career goals without the worry that one serious illness or accident could derail their future plans."