Managed Care - July 2008 - (Page 47) tionships. We want younger people to experience health care coverage and see the value of it. Any way we can reach out to them with messaging and by speaking in their terminology that will encourage them to purchase this coverage is positive. If we as an industry can continue to show value to these young invincibles, who generally may not see the value of health care coverage, the better off they will be over time. The better our health care environment will be, as well.” Anthem launched Tonik, for 19- to 29-year-olds, in California. It has since been introduced in Georgia, Colorado, Connecticut, Nevada, and New Hampshire and has about 80,000 members. An- The young and the rest of us T he number of people 19 to 29 climbed to 13.7 million in 2006, according to the Commonwealth Fund’s “Rite of Passage: Why Young Adults Become Uninsured and How New Polices Can Help, 2008 Update.” The study states that “expanding coverage for this group could lower the average cost of group insurance because young adults are generally healthier than older adults and have lower per-capita health care expenditures.” Young invincibles make up nearly one third of the 46.4 million nonelderly uninsured* Ages 20–64 15% 20% Age 18 and under How young adults 19–23 are covered 12.5 million Uninsured Through own employer As dependent Other* Individual or college plans 7.6 million 17% 8% 49% 6% 20% Full-time students 39% Ages 36–49 23% 16% 12% Ages 30–35 13% Ages 19–23 25% 16% Ages 24–29 13% 7% Not full-time students** The big marker is the nineteenth birthday. “Turning 19 increases the uninsured rate nearly threefold,” according to the study. Both public and private insurance plans use 19 as a cutoff. Children are often dropped from employer-sponsored plans if they do not go to college. Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program also use 19. Young adults’ work lives — which often involve taking seasonal or part-time jobs, or jobs at small companies that do not offer insurance — make securing employerbased coverage problematic.“. . . The transitional nature of young adults’ lives following their nineteenth birthday makes it difficult to secure a stable and consistent source of health insurance coverage.” *Percentages are rounded and do not quite add up to 100. Source: Analysis of the March 2007 Current Population Survey by S. Gilied and B. Mahato for the Commonwealth Fund * Other includes Medicare, Medicaid, and military ** Includes part-time students The effect of poverty Young adults with low income are particularly vulnerable. Uninsured rates jump from 12 percent for children 18 and younger to 30 percent for those 19 to 29. Total 200% FPL 8% 16% 12% 30% 22% 53% 16% 41% 18 and under 19–29 *Federal poverty level Note: Numbers may not add up to 100 percent because of rounding JULY 2008 / MANAGED CARE 47
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