A new Commonwealth Fund issue brief—the latest in a series exploring how health reform will benefit different groups, as well as improve insurance coverage and change the delivery of care—focuses on young adults. The Affordable Care Act includes several short- and long-term provisions that promise to stem the rising tide of uninsured young adults. Of the 14.8 million uninsured young adults, up to 12.1 million may gain subsidized insurance once all the law's provisions go into effect in 2014: 7.2 million may gain coverage under Medicaid and 4.9 million may gain subsidized private coverage through the insurance exchanges. In addition, about 1 million uninsured young adults are expected to join their parents' policies over the next three years.
