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:
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