The United States Supreme Court is expected to hand down a ruling on the Affordable Care Act, also known as ‘ Obamacare ,’ Thursday-a ruling which could have profound effects on healthcare for many current and former students.
The federal law allows young adults up to age 26 to remain on their parents’ health insurance plans-even if they are out of school, married or living on their own-if they cannot obtain health insurance through an employer. Prior to passage of the ACA , many insurers denied coverage for children 19 and older unless they were full-time students.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 3.1 million young adults-including an estimated 95,000 in North Carolina alone-currently have health insurance because of the health care law, which took effect on Sept. 23, 2010.
As a result, HHS said the percentage of adults ages 19 to 25 with health insurance increased from 64.4 percent to 74.8 percent from September of 2010 to December of 2011.
Prior to the law, young adults were the least likely demographic to have health insurance, according to HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius .
“This policy doesn’t just give young adults and their families peace of mind, it also gives them freedom,” Sebelius said. “It means that as they begin their careers, they will be free to make choices based on what they want to do, not on where they can get health insurance.”
Prior to passage of the ACA , millions of young adults lost coverage as they graduated from school or changed jobs-and many of them avoided needed medical treatment because they couldn’t afford to pay for it without insurance, according to a Commonwealth Fund survey.
According to the survey, 36 percent of young adults ages 19 to 29 said they had trouble with medical bills or debt in the past year.
Among those with difficulties with medical bills or debt, 43 percent said they had used all of their savings as a result, 32 percent said medical bills caused them to miss payments on other debts and tuition, and 31 percent said it delayed their education or career plans.
According to Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, when the full coverage provisions of the Affordable Care Act take effect in 2014, young adults will be as likely as other age groups to achieve nearly universal coverage.
However, the Commonwealth Fund predicts that if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the law, it will send young adults further away from medical care.
“If the law is struck down, the level of debt for young adults will continue to climb, and they will continue to worry about medical bills and not getting access to coverage,” said Sara Collins, one of the survey’s authors. “It all really compounds the difficulties young adults are facing at a really critical time given the economic environment.
Regardless of the Supreme Court ruling, two of the nation’s largest health insurers- UnitedHealthcare and Humana-have announced they will continue to allow young adults to stay on their family health care plans up to age 26.
“The protections we are voluntarily extending are good for people’s health, promote broader access to quality care and contribute to helping control rising health care costs,” United Healthcare president and CEO Stephen Hemsley said in a statement accompanying the announcement.
