New Efforts to Insure Young Adults May Beat Reform Proposals to the Punch

But changes also are occurring at the collegiate level. For instance, at 11 campuses of the University of North Carolina this fall, students who do not have their own coverage or coverage through their parents will be required to have coverage, which can be obtained through a new plan "designed to leverage the UNC system's buying power." This coverage will be will be factored into financial aid packages.

Students will have a $300 deductible and be covered for up to $100,000 under the UNC package. A study last year by the General Accountability Office found that more than half of collegiate plans had a maximum benefit less than $29,000.

Young adults who are not in school full time after graduation from high school are much more likely to be uninsured--primarily because it is much harder for them to obtain access to employer coverage: 37% of part time and non students ages 19 to 23 were uninsured, compared with 18% of full time students, according to a recent study from the Commonwealth Fund.

"Loss of health insurance coverage impedes young adults' access to the health system at precisely the time they should be establishing their own relationships with physicians and puts them and their families at significant financial risk," said study author and Commonwealth Fund Vice President Sara Collins.

While young adults are healthier than older adults, about 15% do have chronic conditions such as asthma, and more than half weigh more than what is considered to be a healthy weight. In addition, 2.7 million births occur to women in this age group, and young adults have the highest rates of injury related visits to the emergency room of any age group, according to the study.

In the absence of comprehensive change or reform in the health insurance system, the following three policy changes could "incrementally extend coverage" to a portion of uninsured young adults and prevent others from losing coverage in the future, according to the study. They include:

• Extending eligibility for Medicaid/State Children's Health Insurance Plan public coverage beyond age 18.


• Having states ensure that all colleges and universities require full time and part time students to have health insurance and offer health insurance coverage to both.


• Extending eligibility for dependents under private coverage beyond age 18 or 19.