Health Insurance for Twenty-Somethings
- If you're still in college, just graduated or are about to accept a position that does not immediately offer health benefits, don't worry. As of 2009, The Affordable Care Act allows you to stay on your parent's health insurance plan until you're 26. This can give you enough time to graduate college and establish yourself with an employer that offers health benefits. To be eligible to remain on your parent's insurance you don't have to live with your parents or be claimed as a dependent.
- A young adult may purchase a health insurance policy from a private health care provider at any time. Premiums for young people are typically low because the insurance company considers them a low risk to have health problems and need to use the coverage. The problem with this coverage can be it lack of benefits. Low premiums can often mean that if an accident happens you may be left holding the bag for part of the bill. It's important that a young person gets help from a heath insurance professional to determine the best private coverage for the money.
- State-assisted health care is available to those Americans whose income falls below the poverty line. This may be an alternative solution for those 20-somethings who have passed the age to be on a parent's insurance plan but still cannot afford individual coverage. The problems with a state-assisted medical care plan are the long waits for determination on eligibility and a lack of reward for success because if you get a better job that pays more you lose your health coverage even if the new employer does not offer benefits.
- This is the best-case scenario for a young person just graduating from college or moving into a career path with a business. Employer-sponsored health care plans cover a portion, or in some cases all, of the monthly premium for an employee, which provides benefits should he become sick or injured.