An issue brief released Friday by the Commonwealth Fund says young adults between the ages 19 and 29 are one of the largest and fastest-growing segments of the U.S. population without health insurance.
In 2006, some 13.7 million young adults lacked coverage, growing from 13.3 million in 2005, the brief said.
Young adults accounted for 17 percent of the increase in the number of uninsured Americans under age 65 between 2005 and 2006, according to the study. Even though they comprise just 17 percent of the under-65 population, young adults accounted for almost 30 percent of the non-elderly uninsured.
According to study authors Jennifer Kriss, Sara Collins, Bisundev Mahato, Elise Gould and Cathy Schoen, young adults often lose coverage at age 19 or when they graduate from college. Almost two out of five, or 38 percent of high school graduates and one-third of college graduates, are uninsured for a time during the first year after graduation.
The study found that young adults from poorer families are most likely to be uninsured. About 23 percent of young adults without insurance come from households with incomes below 100 percent of the federal poverty level.
The lack of stability in coverage puts young adults at risk, the authors said.
Several states have passed laws to expand coverage of dependents up to age 24 or 25 under parents' insurance policies. This policy change could help uninsured young adults gain coverage and prevent others from losing it, the study authors said.
In addition to expanding coverage ages, other policies such as extending eligibility for public insurance programs beyond age 18 and ensuring that colleges require and offer coverage to full- and part-time students would also help, the study said.
According to a report released last year by the Boston-based Access Project, mandated health insurance for students in Massachusetts has not been entirely successful. In 2006, though there was a dramatic increase in the number of students covered and the insurance was offered with low premiums, low caps on the policies made catastrophic medical care financially devastating for some. In addition, students faced relatively low caps for somewhat routine outpatient services, forcing large out-of-pocket expenses for ambulances, CAT scans, MRIs, radiation, chemotherapy, X-rays and lab services.
Do you agree that states should get involved in healthcare coverage for young adults? Reply to Senior Editor Diana Manos at diana.manos@medtechpublishing.com.