1 in 3 Young Adults Without Health Insurance

Posted in Health Insurance

February 26th, 2010

Recently-released data shows that 1 in 3 young adults in their 20s lacked health insurance in 2008. This stat, which comes from the National Center for Health Statistics, a part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows the extreme to which people in America are lacking health care, most likely due to high health insurance rates.

Statistics in Detail

One of the standoutstats in the study was the fact that 35 percent of 20 to 29 year-old men go without medical coverage. This means, while the population is very healthy, it is less likely to visit a doctor on a regular basis or fill prescriptions if needed. However, men in this age range are also more likely to visit an emergency room, which is costly for everyone.

Some other stats from the study include:

• 31 percent of U.S. adults in their 20s were likely to go without health insurance coverage, whereas 17 percent of adults aged 30 to 64 go without.
• 44 percent of young adults without insurance had a “usual source” for medical care.
• Adults intheir 20swithout insurance were four times as likely to have “unmet medical need” compared to those with private insurance and twice as likely as those with Medicaid.
• 1 in 4uninsured people in this age group did not fill a needed prescription, compared with 6 percent of those with private insurance and 12 percent of those on Medicaid.

Health Insurance Is Too Expensive

The researchers admitted that younger adults have a history of being uninsured more than most; however, the higher population of individuals withoutmedical coverage can be attributed to the deteriorating economy at the time, as well as increased medical costs.

Some individuals in their 20s are still in college while others are trying to find jobs, so in a tough economy, it’s even more challengingto findaffordable healthinsurance then be able to purchase it if the job doesn’t cover most of it.

President Barack Obama has recently introduced a proposal for a $950 billion health bill that he hopes will get bipartisan support. If so, maybe we will all be that much closer to affordable health insurance.