The Outstanding Benefits of Health Insurance Reforms for Young Adults

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Health insurance reform will fill the holes in the current health insurance system that leave too many young adults without high-quality, affordable coverage and saddled with medical debt.

Insurance Security. Young adults are just starting jobs and careers and often do not have access to reliable job-based coverage. Health insurance reform will allow all young adults to remain on their families’ health insurance policies as dependents until the age of 26. But for those who do not remain as dependents, reform will create a health insurance exchange that will offer a choice of plans to those without job-based coverage so young adults can decide how much coverage they want. The exchange will ensure that young adults always have access to affordable, quality coverage, whether they change jobs, move, or hold part-time or temporary jobs.

Preventive Care for Better Health. Simple prevention as a young adult can prevent a small health problem from getting worse. Health insurance reform offers free prevention to all insured people and invests in public health to create a system that prevents illness and disease instead of just treating it when it is too late and costs more.

Strengthen Employer-Based Coverage. Young adults are more likely to work for small businesses, for whom skyrocketing health care costs have made health insurance unaffordable. Health insurance reform will provide a tax credit to small businesses to provide premium relief, so that small businesses can provide needed coverage to their employees.

Relief from Large Medical Bills. Right now, too many young adults are starting off their adult life burdened with medical debt. Health insurance reform will expand insurance options for young adults and provide premium subsidies to ensure coverage is affordable. It will also put a cap on what insurance companies can force young adults to pay in out-of-pocket expenses, co-pays, and deductibles. Finally, reform will require premium rate reviews to ensure that young adults are not subject to arbitrary increases in their premiums and will crack down on excessive insurance overhead by applying standards on how much insurance companies can spend on administrative costs.