Youth Radio - Topic: Young Invincibles

Options Chart: Health Insurance For Grads

rgee — Mon, 09 May 2011 15:07:01 -0500

EHealthInsurance has put together a chart for college graduates to help explain their health insurance options. Check it out below:

For other Health Insurance information, check out the Young Invincibles Graduation Toolkit.

Young Adult Considers Returning to Parents' Health Plan

wilmer — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 14:07:55 -0500

Originally broadcast on NPR's Morning Edition on September 22, 2010.

By Molly Adams

Before health care reform was signed into law, President Obama made a speech where he was pretty much talking to me when he said: "If you're a young adult, which many of you are, you'll be able to stay on your parents' insurance policy until you're 26 years old."

This was good news for me -- two years since I became an official independent adult. That rite of passage was graduating college and being removed from my parents' health insurance coverage. And since then I haven't been able to find an affordable plan as a single person who works three different jobs. So when the law was signed I called my mom, Sheera LaBelle, and I asked her a question to which I could guess the answer: "Mom, will you take me back?"

"Well I'd love to take you back," she said. "I'm really trying to figure out what this whole overhaul is going to mean. There have been so many rules, at least with my insurance."

I told my mom I'd take care of sorting out the rules. I called the benefits office of the University of Southern Maine where my mom works and found out that I can re-enroll in her plan in November and be covered by January. Yeah, it's not Sept 23 -- the date the provision "officially" takes effect. I'm just glad my parents have a plan that qualifies.

Right now, I am completely financially independent of them, something I've been working for since graduating college. It is a strange and kind of demeaning concept to revisit a dependent type of relationship with them. I asked my mom recently if she thought this was awkward, too.

"It is what it is," she told me. "It's a stopgap measure. And you will be only covered for a couple of years until you turn 26. My hope would be that you would get a job that pays benefits. As far as it costing extra money for us, it didn't make a huge difference. It wasn't a whole lot more because I think in general people your age are healthy. And so it would be peace of mind to me to know that you have health care coverage."

It would be peace of mind to me, too. Even though I'm healthy, I live in a state of paranoia. Something could happen to me between now and January that no savings account could ever cover. Last year I made 18 thousand dollars. Before taxes.

This might be surprising, but the health care reform law is not a topic of conversation among my friends. I only know one other person who tried to get back on her parents' plan. But instead, she decided to split the cost of an individual PPO with her mom to avoid some headaches. My friends only talk about health care when they need immediate access. Then we're sharing information about deals in clinics or free services.

Here's what a lot of friends my age and in the same situation are focusing all their energy on: transitioning from freelance -- or part time -- to full time work with benefits. Not health insurance.

I see that changing in 2014. That's when, under the new health care law, many people -- and not just young adults, but most uninsured adults -- will have to make a choice: be covered or pay a fine. At that point, I hope I'll be a worker with benefits, not one shopping the health care exchanges for health care I can afford.

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"Getting Covered" Tells You How To Stay Insured

rgee — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:09:05 -0500

On September 23, some key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will go into effect, including granting young adults through age 26 eligibility to be on their parents' health insurance plan. That's the Dependent Insurance Coverage provision. Cynthia S. Marietta, J.D., LL.M. at the University of Houston Law Center, wrote that by 2011 the number of uninsured young adults is expected to decrease by 1 million.

Young Invincibles, an organization designed with the intention of making sure young peoples’ voices are heard in the health care debate, recently launched a website called “Getting Covered,” in order to inform young people about the change in health care options. “Our Getting Covered campaign was designed to educate young adults and parents about the benefits of the new health care bill," said Aaron Smith, Executive Director of Young Invincibles. "We launched a website, www.gettingcovered.org where you can basically get a prescription of how to get covered... No matter your situation, it almost always makes sense to get on your parents’ insurance,” he said.

The website reads:

Getting Covered is a campaign to inform young adults and their families about dependent coverage, the provision in the new health care law that allows young adults to stay on their parent's plan until age 26. This provision is important. It alone has the potential to cover over 2 million of our nation's 18.9 million uninsured young adults. And it will not add a single dollar to state or federal budgets. Getting Covered will ensure that all young adults, parents and families have the information they need to take advantage of this benefit.

Smith shared with Youth Radio some of the most frequently asked questions regarding the new health care provision.

- Do I have to be a full-time student? No.
- Do I have to live in the same state as my parents? No.
- Can I be married and still be on my parents’ insurance? Yes.
Other common questions include:
When can I sign up, and who has to pay for it? “The law is flexible in this regard. You can decide with your parent whether they pay or you pay,” said Smith.

Young Invincibles is hosting several events around September 23. “We’re hosting over 80 events in 20 states, some will be on college campuses and some will be off-campus. Some are intended to educate, but others are to celebrate a fantastic young adult benefit,” said Smith.

Young Invincibles also launched a “Tell Your Story Sweepstakes” contest, where young adults and parents can submit their health care stories, and receive the chance to win an iPod touch. “This is a fun way to engage young adults and a great way to get the message out there,” said Smith.
You can view the stories on the Young Invincible website. See an example of a story below:

Megan H.
Kansas City, MO
Submitted: 09-09-2010

Meghan H. watched as her little brother bounced from one Missouri walk-in clinic to another, seeking treatment for allergies that seemed to be worsening, causing recurring sinus infections and headaches.

Within a few months, Meghan was at a hospital with her family being told that her brother might not survive the brain surgery he urgently needed. The problem: a routine sinus infection had gone unchecked, spread to his brain and now threatened his life.

Meghan believes that it need not have happened that way. “Had my brother had the opportunity to have health care coverage that was affordable, had he had a doctor that he could go to, I truly believe his infection would not have gone that far. He would still be the active, healthy, able-to-do-whatever-he-wanted 21-year-old he should be.”
But now, because of the toll of the infection, he suffers short-term memory loss, lingering seizures, and is 70% blind. He is, she adds, “ very restricted in what he can do in a job, his career and his ability to live a normal life.”

The young man, who had run track in college and was working in landscaping to earn money is now considered disabled, putting him on the rolls of Americans covered by disability insurance.

Meghan sees how dependent care coverage could have made a massive difference. “Cases like my brother’s exhibit one of the primary problems with our healthcare system,” she says. “Lack of access to affordable health insurance and primary care doctors often results in diseases progressing unnecessarily, resulting in a huge cost to both the patient and taxpayers in the end.”

Currently, Meghan is living without health insurance. She’s looking for a job that will cover her. She keenly understands just how important it is to have coverage.

A Prescription For Covering Uninsured Young Adults

rebecca — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:53:13 -0500

by: Emily Beaver

Under 26 with no health insurance? Signing up for Mom or Dad's health insurance plan later this year might be the cure.

On September 23, part of health care reform that allows young adults to get insurance coverage through their parents' plans until age 26 will become law. Before Congress passed health care reform earlier this year, every state had different rules about how long young people could be covered under their parents' plans. Insurance plans could drop young adults when they turned 19 or graduated from college. Some states allowed young people to stay on their parents plans into their twenties, but required them to live with their parents, be unmarried, or be a college student.

The good news for young people is that the new law does away with these rules, said Ari Matusiak, co-founder the Young Invincibles, an organization that promotes opportunities for people ages 18 to 34. Starting September 24, young adults living in any state won't have to live with their parents, be students, or even be unmarried to be insured through a parent's health care plan, he said.

Matusiak and Young Invincibles co-founder Aaron Smith teamed up with AARP, a group for people over age 50, to answer questions about the new law at a virtual town hall meeting in Sacramento, California on Thursday. They also introduced GettingCovered.org, a new website that helps young adults find out if they can get insured through a parent's plan. The site, created by the Young Invincibles, lets young adults and their parents take a short quiz to find their health care options - they can even get personal "health care prescriptions" based on their quiz results e-mailed to them. Employers can also find information about adding adult children to insurance plans.

Not every young adult will be able to take advantage of the new provision. Employers aren't required to cover adult children who are offered insurance at their own jobs. Young people whose parents don't have insurance won't benefit. And young adults 26 and older still may struggle to find affordable health care options.

But for many young adults, who are more likely than any other age group to be uninsured, latching on to a parents' health plan could be one of the easiest, most affordable ways to get health care. An estimated 2 million young adults will be able to take advantage of this option, and parents who want to add them will only have to pay slightly more for their insurance, Smith said Thursday.

Wondering when you can sign up? After September 23, young adults can enroll in their parents' health plans during the next open enrollment period. Many health plan years begin on January 1 and hold open enrollment in the fall, but young people and their parents should check with their parent's employers to find out when they can enroll, Smith said.

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Still Fighting for Health Care

noah — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 18:16:46 -0600

By Emily Beaver

As most of us were sitting down in front of our TVs to watch the Super Bowl last weekend, President Obama announced he would hold a televised health care reform summit on February 25. The summit is aimed at bringing Democrats and Republicans back to the table to talk about health care reform. Reform has stalled since Democrats lost a Senate seat in January.

If you haven't been paying attention, it's worth tuning back into the health care debate. What Congress decides to do -- or not do -- about health care will have a big affect on young adults, who are more likely to be uninsured than any other age group.

Aaron Smith, a Georgetown University law student and one of the founders of Young Invincibles, the youth advocacy group that's worked to get young people involved in the health care reform debate, says it's been challenging to keep young people engaged during the long debate. Smith says he thinks young people are looking for a signal that Congress is going to move forward with reform.

Krisja Hendricks, a 28-year-old New Yorker, says she hopes members of Congress will be able to "put politics aside and focus on helping people get affordable health insurance."

Hendricks, who has struggled to get health insurance after suffering chronic illnesses, has been speaking out about health care reform since Rock the Vote asked its members to submit personal stories about health care last year. In October, she spoke in support of extending dependent health insurance coverage--the length of time young adults can stay insured under their parents' health plans--at a press conference held by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Hendricks was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at age 22, when she was a senior in college. At the time, she was covered by her father's health insurance plan. But a few months after graduating, she was dropped from the insurance plan. Months later, she was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. Hendricks doesn't get insurance through her job as a waitress. And with pre-existing conditions, finding affordable health insurance has been nearly impossible. She spent years uninsured, getting basic health care from clinics and skipping important post-cancer tests and screenings.

Even after finding an affordable health insurance plan recently, Hendricks still has to fight some battles. While she was in the hospital being treated for complications related to Crohn's disease in December, her health insurer sent her a letter saying the company was going out of business and canceling her policy. As result, she stayed in the hospital for six days while she was unknowingly uninsured.

Monique Luse, a 28-year-old Georgetown University law student, has also struggled with chronic health problems - she has hypertension and Sjogren's syndrome. To maintain her health, she needs to visit her doctors regularly and take medications, which are expensive without insurance.

Luse has student insurance now, but she has had gaps in insurance coverage between graduating from college and starting her first job, and when she changed from her first to her second job. During those times, she visited low-cost health clinics and paid out-of-pocket for her medications, which cost about $500 a month.

For a while, Luse was afraid of losing her insurance after she graduates from law school this spring. She feels fortunate to have earned a fellowship at an advocacy organization that will begin this fall and will offer health benefits. But she knows that not all of her classmates will be as lucky.

She says she is disheartened by the suggestion that health care reform can wait.

"It's dismissive," she says. "It can't wait."

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Abortion Amendment Sparks Rallies

rpereira — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:57:19 -0600

By: Emily Beaver

Today, abortion-rights groups across the country are lobbying against the Stupak amendment, the controversial amendment in the House of Representative's health reform bill that bans federal spending on abortion coverage.

Groups like Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America are holding a lobby day in Washington, D.C., as part of a national "week of action." Hundreds of abortion-rights advocates are expected to gather on Capitol Hill to rally against the amendment, which would prohibit the Medicaid program from covering abortions and would prohibit women who receive government subsidies from buying health plans that cover abortion from a health insurance exchange.

In San Francisco, several reproductive health advocacy groups are planning a rally against the Stupak amendment at noon today at San Francisco City Hall. Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, NARAL Pro-Choice California, and other groups want California's senators to oppose the ban on abortion coverage in health reform. The advocates plan to speak about the importance of passing health reform legislation that inculdes coverage for abortion services.

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Abortion and the Health Care Debate

rpereira — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:46:08 -0600

By: Emily Beaver

Abortion has long been a hot political topic--and now it's becoming part of the health care debate. So what does abortion have to do with health care? Members of Congress are arguing about which health insurance plans should cover abortions.

When the House of Representatives passed its health care reform bill earlier this month, some Democrats persuaded House leaders to include a last-minute amendment that would ban some health care plans from covering abortions.The representatives who proposed the Stupak amendment, named after Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, say they want to prohibit the federal government from spending money on abortion. The amendment would ban the Medicaid program from covering abortions and would prohibit anyone who receives a government subsidy to buy a plan that covers abortions in the health insurance exchange, except in the case of rape, incest or if a woman's life is in danger. Since the government already bans federal spending on abortions, supporters of the Stupak amendment say they are just maintaining the status quo for abortion policy.

How much does an abortion cost if you are paying out-of-pocket? Check out this Youth Radio video:

But some critics say the amendment would restrict abortion coverage for many women because health reform is designed to cover most of the uninsured through Medicaid and the health insurance exchange. Anyone receiving a government subsidy wouldn't be able to purchase a plan that covers abortion through the health insurance exchange.

Based on the Kaiser Family Foundation's subsidy calculator and the House's health reform bill's income limits for Medicaid, a single 24-year-old who earns between $16,245 and $37,600 a year would receive a subsidy to buy insurance through the exchange. (Under the bill, a single person who earned less than $16,245 would qualify for Medicaid.) That means that many women who are uninsured now -- and young adults ages 19 to 29 are more likely than any other age group to be uninsured-- could have a hard time getting health plans that cover abortion.

"The health reform bill would expand access and lower costs, but the Stupak provision needs to be removed because it would restrict access for women and it goes too far," says Tait Sye, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood, an organization that provides and advocates for sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion.

The Senate voted Saturday to begin debating its own health care reform bill. Right now, the Senate bill would allow women to choose insurance plans that cover abortion if they receive a government subsidy and would allow insurers to sell plans in the exchange that cover abortion, but women would have to use private funds to cover abortions. Some anti-abortion legislators want the Senate bill to include restrictions on abortion similar to the ones in the Stupak amendment.

Medi-Cal, the California Medicaid program, covers abortions because the state supreme court ruled the Medi-Cal program could not cover prenatal care but not abortions (or vice versa), says Jennifer Templeton Dunn, executive director of University of California San Francisco/Hastings Consortium on Law, Science and Health Policy. Many other states' Medicaid programs also cover abortions, Dunn says.

California uses its own money to pay for Medi-Cal abortion coverage, but it's not clear how Medi-Cal would be affected if the Stupak amendment is passed into law, says Lupe Rodriguez, program and policy director for ACCESS/ Women's Health Rights Coalition in Oakland. ACCESS helps women get reproductive health care services and runs a telephone hot line that provides information about pregnancy, parenting, abortion and adoption at 1-800-376-4636 (and 1-888-442-2237 in Spanish). Rodriguez says that she is concerned the amendment could affect funding for other parts of the Medi-Cal program, or could cause Medi-Cal to stop funding abortion coverage.

Most employer-sponsored health insurance plans cover abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a social science research and public policy organization that supports abortion rights. Under the Stupak amendment, most women who don't get health insurance through an employer (or a spouse or parent's employer) would have to pay for abortion out of their own pockets.The Stupak amendment allows women to purchase supplemental coverage for abortions, but Dunn says that since most women don't expect to have unplanned pregnancies, this isn't a realistic solution.

Critics of the Stupak amendment are also worried that insurance companies will stop offering plans that cover abortion because people who purchase insurance through the exchange won't be able to buy those plans. Without insurance coverage, a first trimester abortion at a clinic can cost $350-$900, Sye says. With complications, an abortion can cost up to $10,000.

In California, women who want abortions but don't have insurance coverage can apply for full Medi-Cal insurance or Medi-Cal pregnancy coverage, Rodriguez says. Women under 21 can apply for the minor consent program, which provides prenatal care and abortions. For women who don't qualify for any of these programs, ACCESS can help fundraise, Rodriguez said. But when women don't have insurance coverage for abortion, they often face more hurdles obtaining abortions, which can cause them to delay the procedure, she says. Abortions that occur later in pregnancy are riskier and more expensive.

Young women, women of color and low-income women face already many barriers to get abortions, including a lack of access to health insurance and social services, and misinformation about health care services available, Rodriguez says. She says the Stupak amendment and some of the compromise language being discussed in the Senate could make it even harder for these women to get abortions.

"People who are not receiving care will continue to not receive care and continue to be left behind," she says.

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Young Invincibles Weigh in on Senate's Plan

rpereira — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:08:44 -0600

The Y.I. Want Change coalition of more than 20 youth organizations is urging the Senate to go even further to make reform that works and is affordable for young Americans. The bill unveiled by the Senate extends coverage to millions of the uninsured, many of whom are young people. It includes a public option, and allows young adults to stay on their parents’ policies until the age of 26.

In a press release, the coalition stated that it continues "to be concerned about what began as the so-called “Young Invincible” plan, a high-deductible catastrophic plan now available to young Americans up to age 30 and any American who would have to pay more than 8 percent of their income in premiums."

Some members of the coalition believe that such a plan would create two classes of insured people in the country, with one class being akin to having insurance in name only.

For more information on Y.I. Want Change and how to get involved, visit their website.

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Breaking Down the House Health Reform Bill

rpereira — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:40:07 -0600

By: Emily Beaver

Last weekend, the House of Representatives passed its version of health care reform, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, or H.R. 3962. The bill is almost 2,000 pages long. Haven't read it yet? Here are a few parts of the bill that could have a big impact on young people.

The Individual Mandate
Under H.R. 3962, everyone would be required to have health insurance, a policy known as an "individual mandate." This could be a big change for people ages 19-29, who are less likely to have health insurance than other age groups. However, the bill doesn't just require everyone to get insurance -- it aims to make getting insurance easier. Allowing more people to be insured through the Medicaid program, letting young people stayed insured under their parents' plans until age 27, and creating an exchange where individuals could buy health insurance are a few strategies to help more people get insured. Anyone who doesn't have insurance would be fined up to 2.5 percent of their income.

Staying Insured Under a Parent's Plan
The House bill would allow children to stay insured under their parents' private health insurance plans until age 27. This change could occur as soon as January 2010, unlike other parts of health care reform that wouldn't go into effect until 2013, Rodgers says. Since some states allow insurance companies to to drop young people from their parents' health plans once they reach their late teens or early twenties, this change could help more young people keep their health insurance.

Expanding Medicaid
Experts say that young people are less likely to be insured because they often don't get health benefits at work and usually don't qualify for government health insurance programs like Medicare or Medicaid. But the House bill would make states change eligibility rules to allow more people to get health insurance through Medicaid, a government-run health insurance program for poor and very low-income people. Right now, Medicaid insures parents with dependent children, pregnant women, children, senior citizens and some people with disabilities, so most young adults don't qualify for the program, says Melissa Rodgers, associate director of the Berkeley Center on Health, Economic and Family Security. Under the House bill, some young adults without children would now be able to qualify for Medicaid. The bill would also change Medicaid rules to insure people who earn up to 150 percent of the federal poverty limit. Under the 2009 guidelines, 150 percent of the federal poverty limit would be $16,245 a year for an individual.

The Health Insurance Exchange and the Individual Market
Health reform could lead to major changes for Americans who don't get insurance through work, a parent or spouse's health plan, or through Medicare or Medicaid. Right now, most of these people buy private health insurance plans from the individual market or go without insurance. The House bill would create a health insurance exchange, which would sell private and government-run health insurance plans.

By creating a health insurance exchange, the government would move people away from the individual market, Rodgers says. H.R. 3962 creates four tiers of health insurance plans, which limits how much consumers can spend on insurance plans, based on what medical services the plans offer. The tiers are meant to make it easier for consumers to compare insurance plans offered by different private insurance companies, as well as any insurance plans offered by the government, Rodger says. Right now, there are few to no standards for how much insurers can charge for health insurance plans sold on the individual market or what benefits those plans must offer.

So when will these changes start affecting you? Before anything in the House bill can become a law, the Senate has to pass its own version of health care reform. Then both the House and Senate have to combine their bills, then the final bill has to pass both the House and Senate again before the president can sign a bill into law.

Right now, two different health reform bills are moving around the Senate. However, these bills share some of the same goals, including expanding the Medicaid program, letting young people stayed insured under their parents' health plans longer, and creating an insurance exchange, Rodgers says. So there's a good chance these changes will show up if Congress passes health reform.

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Do You Need Dental Insurance?

rpereira — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:57:06 -0600

By: Emily Beaver

If you've been skipping dentist visits to save some cash, you're not alone.

Recent surveys say that many Americans, even ones who have dental insurance, skipped dental care in 2009 to save money. And people who don't have dental insurance, which is usually sold separately from health insurance, are even more likely to skip dentist visits.

Young adults, in general, are less likely to have health insurance than older adults or children. Many aren't offered health or dental insurance benefits at work -- and even when they are offered dental insurance, some young people choose to skip the extra expense of dental insurance. The Affordable Health Care for America Act, the health care reform bill U.S. House of Representatives passed Saturday, requires everyone to have health insurance, but it doesn't require everyone to have dental insurance.

"People are more likely to spend money on health insurance and skip over dental insurance," says Keith Mendonsa, consumer expert at eHealthInsurance, a company that lets people search for and purchase individual health and dental insurance plans.

Keeping your mouth healthy is important, says Liz Rogers, director of communications and public affairs for Oral Health America. The organization works to improve public health by eliminating oral disease.

"People need to remember that oral health is very much connected to overall health," Rogers says. "Any bacteria or decay in your mouth can travel to other parts of your body."

For a 20-year-old man or woman in the San Francisco bay area, the average monthly premium for dental insurance is about $25, Mendonsa says.

But basic dental services like fluoride applications and sealants cost less than $50 each, so what's the advantage of spending about $300 a year on dental insurance?

The answer has to do with how dental insurance works. Unlike health insurance, dental insurance must be sold to everyone, regardless of whether they have pre-existing conditions, Mendonsa says. This standard is called guaranteed issue. The catch is that most dental insurance plans require that you have insurance for six months before your insurance pays for services other than preventive care -- such as a tooth extraction or a root canal, he says. So if wait until you think you need care to buy dental insurance, or if you have an emergency while you're uninsured, you may end up with a large bill.

If you don't get insurance through a parent or work, there are alternative ways to get care, Rogers says. Self-care, or daily brushing and flossing, is important and get any problems, like white lesions or wounds in your mouth, checked out by a professional, she says. Oral Health America recommends that people who don't have dental insurance visit dental school clinics, which provide low-cost, high-quality dental care. You can also visit a free or low-cost clinic that charges on a "sliding scale" based on your income, she says.

If you decide to buy an individual dental insurance plan, make sure your dentist is in your insurance plan's network, Mendonsa says. If you visit a dentist outside of your plan's network, your care may not be covered by your insurer. He also recommends looking for dental plans with a $1,000 annual maximum benefit. Your annual maximum benefit is how much your insurance company will spend for your care in a year. Choosing a lower maximum benefit, like $750, only saves you a few dollars off your monthly a premium, but you'll end up paying $250 more out of pocket if you need care that costs more than your maximum benefit.

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