By Jordan Rau, Kaiser Health News
A strong majority of young adults, whose participation in the health law may be key to its success or failure, strongly believe health insurance is important for them and worth the money, according to a new poll.
As California and other states -- as well as the federal government -- prepare new online marketplaces for people to purchase insurance this fall, the willingness of young people to buy coverage has been a topic of great uncertainty. Their participation in these marketplaces is considered crucial, since the young tend to be healthier than older people and, therefore, will use fewer medical resources, allowing their premiums to help subsidize the care of the old and sick.
Among age groups, the young are considered the hardest sell on insurance, because the coverage mandated under the 2010 health law is more comprehensive — and therefore more expensive — than the catastrophic policies that many now obtain. Young adults are considered more likely to believe they won’t suffer any horrible illnesses or injuries — a trend that has led to them being labeled “young invincibles.”
The poll found some reason to believe that the young may not shun the health law requirement that they hold insurance starting next January. More than 71 percent of adults 30 or younger say having health insurance is “very important to them,” according to the poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation. When the pollsters put the question differently by asking whether “insurance is something I need,” more than 74 percent of people under age 30 agreed.