Young Invincibles and Health Care: The Top 10 Facts

1. In 2009, the number of uninsured young adults climbed to 18.9 million people, accounting for approximately one third of the total uninsured population

2. Young adults have the highest rate of injury-related emergency department visits among all age groups

3. One-third of all HIV diagnoses are made among young adults

4. Only 53% of young adults are eligible for the health insurance offered by their employers, 21% less than the nearly three-quarters of 30 to 64 year-olds who are eligible

5. 23% of young adults live in households with incomes below 100% of the federal poverty level, and account for 41% of all uninsured young adults

6. Among 20-24 year olds, about 50% have been at their job for less than a year as compared to 10% of workers 55 and over

7. 51% of young adults aged 19 to 26 do not have employer-sponsored health insurance

8. 6 preventable deaths a day occurred in 2000 among adults aged 25-34 due to lack of insurance; these adults would have all lived if they had adequate health care

9. There are 3.5 million pregnancies each year among the 21 million women ages 19 to 29. The cost of pregnancy without insurance is over $10,000

10. 15 percent of young adults have a chronic health condition

The overall scale of America’s broken health care system

• It is estimated that in 2007, 116 million adults were either uninsured, underinsured, reported a medical bill problem, and/or did not access health care they required because of cost.
• That year, the percentage of Americans without any health insurance whatsoever reached 15.3%, or 45.7 million people.
• Between 2001-2003 a staggering 62% of young adults between the ages of 19 and 23 went without coverage for some portion of time.
• Nearly two out of five high school graduates who do not enroll in college, and one-third of college graduates are uninsured for some period of time during their first year after graduation.
• Age 19 is a particularly vulnerable turning point in the lives of Young Invincibles, because this is when many of them can no longer be covered on their parents’ insurance plans. For example, while 11 percent of children age 18 and under are uninsured, this rate rises to 29 percent among those aged 19 to 29.

Young adults’ lower wages affects their limited access to health care

• 40% of young adults earning less than $10/hour have no health coverage and more than one-third of all working young adults earn less than $10 an hour.
• The national unemployment rate as of July 2009 was 9.4%, but for young adults, the unemployment rate ranges from around the national average to a shocking 25.4% for those between the ages of 19 and 23.
• The average weekly wage for all full time wage and salary workers was $722 in 2008, while the average wage for workers between ages of 25 and 34 was $666, and $467 for workers between the ages of 20 and 24.
• More than half of low-income young adults are uninsured, compared to 19% of low-income children under age 18.

Significant employment disparities also contribute to young adults’ access to health insurance

• Baby boomers born between 1957-1964 held an average of 10.8 jobs between ages 18 and 42, an average which still holds for today’s generation of Young Invincibles.
• This means that many Young Invincibles will repeatedly run the risk of losing their employer paid health care, or of entering jobs without health care.
• Only 29% of low-income young adults have employer-sponsored health insurance.

These financial disadvantages are a central factor in restricting young adults’ ability to obtain health insurance

• For example, even though the average employee contribution to employer-sponsored health insurance increased more than 120% between 2000 and 2008, average out-of-pocket costs rose 115% during the same period.
• For those with private insurance plans, total out-of-pocket costs per person have increased from an average of $5,008 in 2001 to $7,280 in 2006. At the end of the day, a middle-income family with private health insurance spends an average of 22% of household income on health care – and some spend up to 50%.

Young Invincibles are by no means invincible

• More than half of all young adults between the ages of 20 and 29 are overweight or obese.
• Almost 9% of adults in this age range have been diagnosed with major depression, a generalized anxiety disorder or a panic disorder.
• Accidents, homicide, and suicide are the three leading causes of death among men and women aged 18-29.
• Car accidents account for 25% of deaths for people between the ages of 18-29.
• 75% of lifetime mental health disorders are identifiable by age 24.
• The highest prevalence of Human Papilloma virus is among women aged 20-24.
• In 2005–2006, there was an average of 7 million injury-related emergency department visits each year by young adults.
• Between 2004–2006, about 15% of young adults reported having one or more of the following chronic medical conditions: arthritis, asthma, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, or hypertension.