Published: Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Insurance woes weigh on young
About one-fifth of young
people go without health
insurance, an official says.
When Robin Wesson dropped out of Youngstown State University, she didn't realize she was about to become a health insurance statistic.
The 22-year-old Youngstown resident who suffers from chronic sinusitis lost her medical insurance along with her student status. Denied access to Medicaid when officials told her she was "too old," now her medical bills are piling up while her painful condition worsens, she said.
"I can't afford medication for it and I can't even afford to go to the doctor," she said. "I still have a bill from the last time I went to the emergency room."
Young adults like Wesson are becoming increasingly well represented among the millions of uninsured Americans, according to insurance experts.
What study says
A study by the Commonwealth Fund — a private, charitable foundation aimed at promoting high-performing health-care systems — found that nonstudents ages 19 to 29 currently occupy the largest and fastest-growing segment of the uninsured population. An estimated 13.7 million young adults were without health insurance last year.
Those transitioning to the working world from high school or college are most vulnerable to the trend, according to the study.
More than half, or 51 percent, of high school graduates who do not go on to college will be uninsured at some time during the year after their graduations.
The same fate will befall 38 percent of college graduates as they enter into the working world.
Cautioning young people
Motivated by statistics from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the Ohio Department of Insurance recently began a campaign aimed at warning young people of the risks of going without medical insurance.
"About one in five [young people] forgo health care coverage," said ODI Director Mary Jo Hudson. "They're one accident away from having pretty significant medical bills and likely credit problems."
Young people risk not only their health but financial devastation, said Hudson.
In 2005, about half of all personal bankruptcies in the U.S. were related to medical expenses, according to a joint study conducted by Harvard University's schools of law and medicine.
"I think it's just a matter of shortsightedness and not having very much experience in the outside world yet," Hudson said.
The ODI recently released a list of options for young adults whose immediate future doesn't include employee health benefits. A variety of government-sponsored and private insurance programs are available for those who qualify, regardless of employment status.
Unaware of possibilities
Many graduates who go without insurance simply aren't aware of the options available to them, said Ellen Laden, a spokeswoman for Golden Rule Insurance Co., the individual insurance branch of United Health Care.
For as little as $33 a month, qualifying individuals can purchase a Golden Rule short-term insurance plan on a month-to-month basis, or in six- to 12-month increments, she said.
"No one can really afford to be without health insurance," she said. "Injuries, accidents and illness can happen at any age."
But delaying a decision about insurance coverage can be disastrous. Once a health condition develops, individuals no longer qualify for short-term coverage, Laden said.
Delaying insurance decisions also can disqualify young people from taking advantage of programs offered by their parents' employers or through the federal government, according to the department of insurance.
It's a lesson one more young adult learned the hard way. Formerly a premedicine student, Wesson now works at a temporary staffing agency, but painful headaches frequently cause her to miss work.
Quietly enduring her illness without medical care, she hopes to find a job with benefits and complete her final year of college.
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