Return to the Latest

A Health Guide For Young Parents

Young Parents Need Health Coverage

One of the most important responsibilities for any family is staying healthy. With most parents having children between the ages of 18 and 34, we must do more to help young people, this country’s most uninsured group, access to health coverage. This is especially important for young parents, who are caring for their families and themselves.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 8.7 million women will gain access to maternity coverage. Since 2014, maternity care has been one of the 10 Essential Health Benefits (EHBs) that must be covered by plans sold on the individual and small group markets. This is a huge improvement, as many women have long lacked access to maternity coverage.

WPI graphic1

Who Are Our Uninsured Millennial Parents And Where Do They Live?

YPI graphic2

Similar to their uninsured non-parent counterparts, the vast majority of uninsured Millennial parents are at the lower-end of the income scale. Only 15 percent of uninsured Millennial parents are in the top two income quartiles.

YPI graphic3

Uninsurance rates for Millennial parents of color exceed those of their white counterparts.

YPI graphic4

Generally, states with high proportions of uninsured Millennial parents are clustered in the south. Many of these states have also not expanded their Medicaid programs, preventing low-income Millennial parents from accessing affordable coverage option.

Some Parents May Still Not Have Maternity Coverage

While the Affordable Care Act greatly increased the number of plans covering maternity care, gaps in maternity coverage still persist. Women covered under grandfathered and transitional health plans, as a dependent on a parent’s employer-sponsored plan, or on self-funded student health plans still may not have maternity coverage.

Expanding Access to Maternity Coverage for Expectant Mothers

Young Invincibles recommends that the Department of Health & Human Services and the state marketplaces create a Special Enrollment Period for pregnancy so that no expectant mother has to suffer the severe health and financial consequences that could arise for women and their families without this important coverage.

Click here to read, “Without Maternity Coverage: The Need For Special Enrollment in the Health Insurance Marketplaces During Pregnancy” by Young Invincibles’ Health Policy Manager Christina Postolowski and check out some of the facts from the report below: 

ypi paper edited final 01
How to Enroll in Coverage

If you are uninsured and do not have access to employer-sponsored coverage or need a more affordable plan, please visit Healthcare.gov to see what options are available to you. To receive in-person health insurance enrollment assistance, please schedule an appointment here. Find out if you might be eligible for health coverage discounts by calculating your premiums with the Kaiser Insurance Marketplace Calculator.

Protect Children’s Access to Coverage

Roughly 9 million children access coverage through the Children’s Health Insurance Program, otherwise known as CHIP. Do you have a child that is covered on CHIP? Congress could slash funding and jeopardize kids’ health. Will you join us by taking this short survey on the importance of health care for your family?

YPI graphic5