Government statistics show that the Affordable Care Act has helped almost one million young adults to be covered by health insurance. Previous to the health care reform, the majority of young adults were going without any form of health insurance. Having health insurance opens up more options about how these young adults make choices about employment.
As of September 23, 2010, young adults who were between the ages of 18 and 26 were able to be covered by their parent’s health insurance policies. Previous to this law, insurance companies would only allow parents to use their policies to cover children who were under the age of 18. The result was that young adults were frequently going completely without any health insurance coverage, because they could not afford to purchase it.
The health reform law allows young adults to remain covered by their parent’s health insurance policies until the young adult reaches age 26. It does not matter if the young adult is single, or married. The young adult doesn’t necessarily have to be enrolled in college in order to use their parent’s health insurance. The young adult doesn’t have to be living with his or her parents in order to have coverage.
According to government statistics, almost one million young adults have signed on to health insurance policies. A Gallup survey shows that health insurance for young adults rose from 71% in the first quarter of 2010 to 75% by the end of June of 2011.
Having health insurance coverage enables people to have more options about the choices that they make about important aspects of their lives. Young adults who have health insurance coverage do not have to choose employment based upon whether or not the employer offers a health insurance plan to its workers.
They can instead look for employment in areas that are closer to their home, that pay more salary, or that are in their area of interest. They can join start-up companies, or start one of their own, without worrying about what would happen if they end up needing medical attention.
In the past, young adults had to be enrolled in college in order to be covered on their parent’s health insurance plans. Essentially, this meant that young adults who could no longer afford to pay for college would automatically lose their health insurance. It also may have influenced some young adults to attend college who otherwise would not have wanted to make that choice. Now, young adults can be covered whether or not they happen to be college students.
Image by Presidio of Monterey: DIFLC & USAG on Flickr