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

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?"

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.  

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.

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.

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.

Previously:

• Abortion and the Health Care Debate
• Old vs. Young -- the Health Care Tug-Of-War
• Ten Health Care Terms You Need to Know

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:

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.

Previously:

• Sweeping Health Care Overhaul Passes the House
• Ten Health Care Terms You Need to Know
• Ten More Health Care Terms You Need to Know

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.

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.