Affordable Care Act's challenge: getting young adults enrolled

[steve2470]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-young-adult-insure-20130603,0,3134348.story?track=lat-pick

Arsine Sargsyan is 23 years old, healthy and uninsured. She chooses to forgo coverage for one simple reason: "I never get sick."

Despite her reluctance, Sargsyan is exactly the type of person insurance plans, states and the federal government are counting on to make health reform work.

As the clock ticks toward the 2014 launch of the Affordable Care Act, health leaders across the nation are embarking on a tough task: persuading young adults like Sargsyan to enroll. Their participation will be critical to balance out older, sicker patients more likely to sign up for health insurance as soon as they are able.

The success of the healthcare law "depends on reaching everyone who is uninsured, but particularly young people who may feel like they don't need insurance," said Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation. Convincing them to spend money on insurance, he said, will be a "marketing challenge."

[elleng]

1. She'll get sick, they'll get sick,

they'll reach 26 and not be covered by their parents' plans, and they will enroll (imo.)

[steve2470]

2. correct nt

[cbdo2007]

3. might be too late by then and she'll already be thousands of dollars in the hole....

[elleng]

4. No penalties for 'pre-existing conditions.'

[cbdo2007]

5. There may be a week long delay to get new paperwork processed....

so it will hardly be a case of people calling while actually at the doctors office and getting insurance immediately. I can't even order cupcakes for my daughter's birthday at the grocery store without 3 days notice.

[elleng]

7. Right, of course.

Young adults have to learn MANY things about how the world works.

[zipplewrath]

6. Dubious

History is against you on this one. They'll tend to avoid, delay, forget, and generally not think about it. This may be especially true of the transiently employed. They'll be covered for a few months on their job, and they lose/leave it and take MONTHS to do anything about it. They'll claim that they'll get new insurance at their new employer, once they get a job, so they won't buy it. Then they'll get a new job and it will be part time, or the employer won't provide it, so they'll delay/forget/excuse their way along for months, mostly hoping something will change.

This is going to be a VERY difficult demographic. Somehow they'll have to get on top of this and try to engage them at key points, such as when they file for unemployment, or when they graduate from college, or when policies expire from their parents, etc. and try to engage them and explain to them what is available and how to set it up.

[elleng]

8. Like every group, they have to learn how the world works.

Unfortunately this will be more difficult for the 'transiently' employed, and I'm surely not suggesting this will be easy for anyone, but part of the learning curve of life.

[zipplewrath]

10. Sorta the point of the original post

That learning curve, absent any active intervention on the part of the states, will tend to begin when they get sick, and are as yet uninsured. The first broken bone, a bad rash, or a hospital trip and they'll get signed up for insurance. That may be 27 or 37 depending upon their "luck".

I thought the mandate was stupid idea. Far better to have a "penalty" if you show up sick/injured and uninsured. We'll sign you up for insurance, but you'll be paying a penalty premium of some sort for 5 years for not having it in advance.

[OKNancy]

9. My 28 year old plans to enroll

There is still a penalty if you don't enroll, right?

If you make under 10,000 per year you don't have to enroll.
2014 per person penalty is only 95.00; 2015 is 325.00, then 625.00 in 2016

[zipplewrath]

11. Sorta

There's a tax for people who don't get insured. It isn't exactly clear how that will be enforced. If you have insurance in December, does that prevent the tax? If I was insured, but then lose my job and therefore my employer based insurance, how quickly do I have to purchase insurance to qualify to avoid the tax? If I sign up for insurance, but don't pay the premiums, how soon do I get canceled and how does that appear to the IRS in determining my tax?

[leftstreet]

12. Why bother? The MANDATE will 'persuade' everyone!

Happy times ahead!

[OKNancy]

14. It will be for my family

Husbands premium goes to $210.00 per month from over $600.00.
I will be on Medicare next year so he will be the only one buying. ( I married a younger man!!)

[Egalitarian Thug]

13. If only these problems and reactions could have been predicted...

[leftyohiolib]

15. "i never get sick" the stupidity of youth. never get sick but you do get cancer you do have bicycle

accident- i had a friend who was the same way till one day she went to her doctor cause her ongue was tingly-numb turns out she had m.s.