Covering the Uncovered

Remember when you were just starting out and it was all you could do to cover the monthly expenses you HAD to pay-like rent and utilities-and paying for health insurance just seemed so .....optional? According to the Annals of Internal Medicine annual visits for healthcare drop sharply between peaks of heavy usage in childhood and middle age. Young men, especially, are unlikely to get regular healthcare. It's no wonder that these days we see robust health and thin wallets combining with a youthful sense of invincibility and a touch of daring to make 19-29 year olds the fastest growing segment of the uninsured population. Today nearly one third of Americans in this age group are taking their chances either due to choice or to circumstance. Unfortunately this group also has the highest prevalence of substance abuse, motor vehicle accidents, and sexually transmitted diseases.

The decision to go a year without insurance when I was between jobs and couldn't afford the COBRA fees seemed like a logical one when I was 25. Twice I went to walk-in clinics for a cold and a small kitchen accident, but I congratulated myself on still coming out ahead money-wise. I didn't give any thought to the fact that if I had sustained a serious injury or long term illness it would not only have been a huge expense but it would have also established a preexisting condition making future insurance even less likely. How lucky that I emerged from that experience with nothing worse than the cramp in my fingers from keeping them crossed that whole year.

So what happens to the not-so-lucky twenty-somethings? What if you are 24 and diagnosed with cancer? How do you pay for chemo and treatment? What if a random eye disease threatens to take away your sight? Or what if you wake up to find you need a heart transplant? I found three young people in exactly these situations. One didn't make it. The other two are the subjects of a profile done with Lisa Ling for PBS-TV's So Cal Connected:

Read more about Jovan and Marina's ordeals in their own words.

To learn more about what you can do about this issue see Rock the Vote's new website.

 

Follow Christal Smith on Twitter: www.twitter.com/csinla

Comments

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05:14 PM on 10/23/2009

Excellent post and excellent segment that Christal helped produce. I've been sending it to my friends with college aged children. The insurance companies call this age group "the Young Invincibles", and the attitude Christal describes that she had about her health at 25, I certainly did too - even after having to have surgery. Now that I'm a parent, I am so aware how fragile we all are at any age. Great job Christal!

[TheMediaRanger]

05:04 PM on 10/23/2009

I wonder if our legislative leaders realize how important it is to facilitate decent, affordable health care for that 19-29 year old demographic you mention. It's a group saddled with college debt, entering the workforce (i.e., ripe for the payment of income taxes), still copping an attitude of immortality who would just as soon roll the dice like you did, Christal (a deranged position leftover from the teen years), and one of the country's best hopes to kick-start the housing market once again.

I think it's what the President was talking about when he said our health care problem IS our deficit problem.