Survey: Millions of Young Adults Gaining Health Coverage Under Affordable Care Act, but Few Are Aware of New Marketplaces
<p>An estimated 7.8 million of the 15 million young adults who were enrolled in a parent’s health insurance plan last year likely would not have been eligible for this coverage without the health reform law’s dependent coverage provision, according to a <a href="/publications/issue-briefs/2013/aug/covering-young-adults-under-affordable-care-act-importance">new Commonwealth Fund survey.</a> But as of March 2013, just 27 percent were aware of the new state health insurance marketplaces that are launching October 1. </p><p>Meanwhile, millions of low-income young adults are at risk of remaining uninsured if the states they live in choose not to expand Medicaid eligibility. </p>
<p>While outreach will be critical to inform young adults about the new marketplaces, the new report dispels the notion that young adults, ages 19 to 29, don’t think they need health insurance: the survey found that when offered health insurance benefits through an employer, two-thirds took the coverage. "There is a stereotype that young adults believe they are 'invincible' and don’t want or need health insurance," says Commonwealth Fund vice president Sara Collins, Ph.D., the study’s lead author. "This survey shows that is a myth." </p>
<p>Visit <a href="/publications/issue-briefs/2013/aug/covering-young-adults-under-affordable-care-act-importance">commonwealthfund.org</a> to read more about the survey findings and to check out our <a href="/publications/infographic/2013/aug/young-adults-want-health-insurance">new infographic,</a> "Young Adults Want Health Insurance."</p>