Health insurance gap puts grads to
the test
June 17, 2007
As graduates filed into the Mondavi Center for UC Davis commencement
exercises last week, many chatted about what's possibly their
last carefree summer before new careers limit them to two-week
vacations.
What's not on their minds is the reality that between graduation
and full-time employment, young people often lose health
insurance.
Some go uncovered for a year or more.
In California, 41 percent of people ages 18 to 35 are uninsured,
according to a 2005 California Health Care Foundation survey.
Nationwide, 30.6 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds are uninsured,
making them the largest population without coverage in 2005.
The numbers reflect an increase from 2004, when an estimated
13.7 million people ages 19 to 29 had no coverage. As recently
as 2000, just 2.5 million were without health insurance, according
to a 2005 survey by the Commonwealth Fund, a private health
advocacy group based in New York.
Often students lose eligibility for school coverage after graduation
and their parents' plans when they reach a certain age or are
no longer full-time students. These are details that students
and parents excited about the arrival of Graduation Day often
overlook.
Today, as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pushes a universal health
plan and presidential candidates are pressed to take a stance
on insurance, many students face the choice of buying often
costly short-term policies or gambling on their health and simply
winging
it without a safety net.
At the UC Davis commencement, as Nancy Bursch waited for her
son, Alex, she admitted she didn't know what's in store for
his coverage now.
" As long as (my kids) were in school they were covered," Bursch
said. "I'm not sure what happens after this. He'd better
get a job."
Alex Bursch wants to teach and has
interviewed with some school districts. He doesn't expect
callbacks until later this summer.
Still, he's unconcerned. His mother joked: "They're young and
invincible. He better not get sick or break anything
Even during their college years, about 20 percent of full-time
students ages 19 to 23 years old go uninsured. About half receive
insurance through their parents' plans and roughly 20 percent
more have individual coverage or university plans, according to
the Commonwealth Fund survey.
While this age group is generally
healthy, twenty-somethings can be accident-prone.
References:
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/227047.html |
