Youth Radio - Topic: health insurance

College Students And Recent Grads Will Sacrifice For Health Insurance

rgee — Tue, 17 May 2011 15:52:37 -0500

The 2011 eHealth College Student and Grads Survey, conducted by Kelton Research, shows that while college students and recent college graduates value health insurance - they don’t necessarily have the knowledge or the support to take advantage of the Affordable Care Act.

According to the study:
- Nearly all students (97%), recent grads (97%) and parents (97%) agree that it is important to have health insurance
- Most students (94%) and grads (93%) would willingly make sacrifices or give up at least one small indulgence like a weekly night out at the movies or dinner, or their daily coffee, if it meant they could afford health insurance
- Almost two in three students (63%) and grads (66%) think it’s fair for parents to help their children cover health insurance costs for a year or more after graduation and over half of parents (58%) agree. Yet more than four in ten parents (43%) with adult children under age 26 would only be willing to keep their children under their own health insurance plan if it cost them nothing
- More than one in two (57%) current students think it’s more important for grads to take a job they don’t like but which offers benefits like health insurance or a retirement account

To demonstrate further that young people value health insurance, 74% of recent grads would rather live at home with their parents in order to have health insurance, than live on their own without it.

The survey does show that the changes in health care coverage have made a difference. Last year’s survey showed that 14% of recent grads were covered by health plans paid for by their parents, and this year, 31% are covered by health insurance paid for by their parents.

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.

One Year After Affordable Care Act: Young Invincibles Addresses, "What Is A Deductible?"

rgee — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:46:27 -0500

This month marks the anniversary of the major health care reform bill, the Affordable Care Act, and according to Aaron Smith, co-founder and executive director of Young Invincibles, even more young people than expected took advantage of the ability to get back on their parents’ health insurance over the past year.

Young Invincibles is an organization that works to educate, inform, and mobilize young people in the health care debate. One huge period of transition for young people is graduating from college, and entering the job market for the first time. “It’s difficult for young adults to get a job, and even more difficult to find one with health benefits,” said Smith. “In college you’re insulated. Students tend to have insurance, and over 50 percent of four year schools require that you have insurance or are on the school plan,” he said.

Young Invincibles, in collaboration with the Roosevelt Institute and Families USA, put together a “Graduation Toolkit” available to download for free from their website. The toolkit consists of a series of fact sheets about health care topics that are most interesting to young people. They worked with a student advisory committee at UC Davis to figure out what these topics were.

“It was interesting to me that students are hungry for substantive and detailed information,” said Smith. “There’s an impression that students don’t want details, but they don’t know what a deductible is, or what a premium is. They want that information,” he said. Smith said the basic facts about health care are totally new to recent college graduates, and there isn’t enough information coming from colleges and universities about how to make health care decisions.

Smith said that one reason recent college graduates are reluctant to get on a health plan is that the decision involves payment, and students aren’t always sure what they’re paying for. “It’s not easy to compare products in terms of health care - you have to be an informed consumer,” said Smith. In this sense, he added, getting young people to get insurance is similar to getting them to vote. Students either don’t have the necessary information to make the decisions, or the information is inaccessible to them.

He said that voting and health care are also similar because young people don't realize until down the line what the repercussions are of not voting. “They realize when it’s too late, and say, ‘I wish I had health insurance,'" said Smith.

In the Young Invincibles toolkit, you can find fact sheets about how to get back on your parents’ plan, what to do if you have a pre-existing condition, how to choose a health care plan, how young people can reduce their risk of cancer, and many more topics.

"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.

Previously:

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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."

Previously:

Health Care Conundrums: Reform & Your Premium

noah — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:25:32 -0600

Our series of health care Q&A's continues as our health care blogger Emily Beaver fields a video question about how the health care reform efforts are going to affect monthly premiums.

Health Care Conundrums: Do I Need A Job?

noah — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:58:17 -0600

With the Senate's one o'clock in the morning vote to pass their version of health care reform now history, the United States lurches forward on the path to some kind of major overhaul in health care. While the rules of the game will be changing soon, the basics look likely to stay the same in the years to come: finding health insurance is going to be just as confusing and daunting a task as ever.

To help those who are just entering into the health care market understand what they're in for, we assembled a panel of our newsroom interns and let them question former health care industry reporter Emily Beaver. In this edition of "Health Care Conundrums", Sarah Hamik asks if you need a job to get insurance coverage.

While we're on the subject... our friends at Oakland North has this meaty piece on the prospects of an overhaul of Oakland's public health care system in the style of the "Healthy San Francisco" program. Check out "A Tale Of Two Cities, Health Care Edition".

Previously on "Health Care Conundrums":

Health Care Conundrums: Dropped At 18

noah — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:48:46 -0600

Youth Radio's conversation between health care expert Emily Beaver and our newsroom team continues with a straightforward question from Melody Or.

Health Care Conundrums: When To Start Looking

noah — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:40:09 -0600

In this episode of Health Care Conundrums, Derek Williams and Andrea Hill hit our health care blogger Emily Beaver with a two for one: when should a teenager start looking for health insurance and what is a good deal on health care?

Emily Beaver has been blogging about health care issues for us as part of our Generation Invincible project. In this new series of videos Emily takes her experience working for a health care industry publication-- where she boiled down complex government policies for health care professionals-- and flips it. The newsroom interns got together their questions about how health care works, and Emily takes their questions head on.