Young adults are gaining health insurance coverage at surprising rates since the health care reform bill was signed according to the article “Young Adults Make Gains in Health Insurance Coverage” by Kevin Sack on the New York Times site.  Three recent surveys show that young adults under the age of 26 increased their health care coverage significantly in 2010 and the first half of 2011.  A survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that there are about 900,000 fewer uninsured young adults now than in 2010.

These numbers are surprising considering the recession has continued and unemployment rates are high.  The Obama administration says the improvement is due to the provision that requires health insurance companies to allow children to remain on their policies until the age of 26.  Previously, young adults were only allowed on their parent’s policies until age 18, 21 or when they finished college.  This provision gives more options for young adults as they transition from school into their first employment.

The Census Bureau reported that the share of young adults not covered by health insurance decreased in 2010 by 2%.  This translates to 502,000 fewer young adults who were uninsured.  Young adults are turning to private individual health insurance policies as opposed to government programs which is surprising.  For all other age groups uninsured rates increased as unemployment remained high and more employers discontinued their health insurance coverage for employees.

Written by Sam Tabes

http://twitter.com/#!/smartshopper78