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New Commonwealth Fund Report Shows Youth Coverage Up 6.6 Million- ACA impact exceeding expectations

 Submitted by Jessie Fri Jun 08 2012 09:59:00 GMT-0400 (EDT)

Today The Commonwealth Fund released their report, Young, Uninsured, and in Debt: Why Young Adults Lack Health Insurance and How the Affordable Care Act Is Helping. This report provides some startling new survey data about health coverage and young Americans. The study finds that following the historic passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), between November 2010 and November 2011, 13.7 million young Americans opted to stay on or return to their parent’s health insurance plans. 6.6 million of these young adults, those out of school or going part-time, gained coverage specifically because of the ACA and expansion of coverage up to age 26.

Although millions of young adults have health coverage thanks to the ACA, those in low-income households are more likely than their peers to not have health insurance or gaps in their coverage. Seventy percent of those with gaps in coverage identified themselves as low income. Of the young people who do not have health insurance, one of the more popular reasons cited was lack of income. Insufficient or lack of coverage puts uninsured young people’s health and finances at risk. Fortunately under the health care law, these young adults will have more affordable options than ever before in 2014, with Medicaid available to those making up to about $15,000 a year, and subsidies to purchase insurance in the exchange. Together these provisions could cover up to 17 million of the young adults who are currently uninsured. The report also shatters the myth that young people think they are invincible. Only 6% of the young adults surveyed actually chose not to have coverage. 

Want more information? See more of this report here.

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bJAwRUiEgldW

I have a friend who sure has been cahgut in this situation a high-income professional (in high tech industries in another state) who recently went back to work after a year and a half unemployed. This person's spouse has been been out of work even longer and has chronic health problems that would put him in a high risk category in the individual insurance market, but he isn't getting any kind of disability related health care. They had already run out of federal premium subsidy for COBRA (part of the one-time stimulus law) and were on the verge of running out of COBRA benefits when my friend finally landed contract work. They are now paying for an expensive individual policy. They can afford it because of the new income, but the job is only guaranteed to last a few months and it is not employment with benefits so it will not re-start the clock on COBRA. They are now repaying large debts to relatives that allowed them to keep up mortgage payments and pay for health coverage, but what would happen in a family where there are no relatives able to lend tens of thousands of dollars during this period, and what will happen if there's another period of unemployment? This is a family where better options for health coverage outside the current crazy individual coverage market could make the difference between a long-time comfortable lifestyle and a fast, horrifying slide to no longer being in the middle class. This friend's debt load would be much larger if she didn't have a huge amount of organizational and negotiating skill. Her husband had a hospitalization while they WERE covered under the COBRA policy, but that policy was pretty slim and the uninsured costs were extremely high. She had the savvy to promptly, politely and assertively negotiate the remaining bill, inquire how it fit into the hospital's charity care policy, and greatly reduce the amount owed. This was a real change for her because the idea of needing charity was an eye-opener. How many of us would have all those skills in the midst of lots of other economic and health threats? I wouldn't want to be there.
Submitted by gYraPFyMA on Sep 25, 2012 at 9:47 AM

bJAwRUiEgldW

I have a friend who sure has been cahgut in this situation a high-income professional (in high tech industries in another state) who recently went back to work after a year and a half unemployed. This person's spouse has been been out of work even longer and has chronic health problems that would put him in a high risk category in the individual insurance market, but he isn't getting any kind of disability related health care. They had already run out of federal premium subsidy for COBRA (part of the one-time stimulus law) and were on the verge of running out of COBRA benefits when my friend finally landed contract work. They are now paying for an expensive individual policy. They can afford it because of the new income, but the job is only guaranteed to last a few months and it is not employment with benefits so it will not re-start the clock on COBRA. They are now repaying large debts to relatives that allowed them to keep up mortgage payments and pay for health coverage, but what would happen in a family where there are no relatives able to lend tens of thousands of dollars during this period, and what will happen if there's another period of unemployment? This is a family where better options for health coverage outside the current crazy individual coverage market could make the difference between a long-time comfortable lifestyle and a fast, horrifying slide to no longer being in the middle class. This friend's debt load would be much larger if she didn't have a huge amount of organizational and negotiating skill. Her husband had a hospitalization while they WERE covered under the COBRA policy, but that policy was pretty slim and the uninsured costs were extremely high. She had the savvy to promptly, politely and assertively negotiate the remaining bill, inquire how it fit into the hospital's charity care policy, and greatly reduce the amount owed. This was a real change for her because the idea of needing charity was an eye-opener. How many of us would have all those skills in the midst of lots of other economic and health threats? I wouldn't want to be there.
Submitted by gYraPFyMA on Sep 25, 2012 at 9:47 AM

bJAwRUiEgldW

I have a friend who sure has been cahgut in this situation a high-income professional (in high tech industries in another state) who recently went back to work after a year and a half unemployed. This person's spouse has been been out of work even longer and has chronic health problems that would put him in a high risk category in the individual insurance market, but he isn't getting any kind of disability related health care. They had already run out of federal premium subsidy for COBRA (part of the one-time stimulus law) and were on the verge of running out of COBRA benefits when my friend finally landed contract work. They are now paying for an expensive individual policy. They can afford it because of the new income, but the job is only guaranteed to last a few months and it is not employment with benefits so it will not re-start the clock on COBRA. They are now repaying large debts to relatives that allowed them to keep up mortgage payments and pay for health coverage, but what would happen in a family where there are no relatives able to lend tens of thousands of dollars during this period, and what will happen if there's another period of unemployment? This is a family where better options for health coverage outside the current crazy individual coverage market could make the difference between a long-time comfortable lifestyle and a fast, horrifying slide to no longer being in the middle class. This friend's debt load would be much larger if she didn't have a huge amount of organizational and negotiating skill. Her husband had a hospitalization while they WERE covered under the COBRA policy, but that policy was pretty slim and the uninsured costs were extremely high. She had the savvy to promptly, politely and assertively negotiate the remaining bill, inquire how it fit into the hospital's charity care policy, and greatly reduce the amount owed. This was a real change for her because the idea of needing charity was an eye-opener. How many of us would have all those skills in the midst of lots of other economic and health threats? I wouldn't want to be there.
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