FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 13, 2016
Contact: Sarah Schultz, sarah.schultz@younginvincibles.org, 202-734-6510

• The uninsured rate for 18-34 year-olds decreased to 15 percent in 2015, continuing progress made over the last two open enrollment seasons of the ACA.
• Young adults make up 46 percent of the newly insured, despite only making up 30 percent of the adult population.
• Young Latinos, among the highest rates of uninsured, also see the steepest improvement.

New data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau shows the rate of young adults without health insurance has continued to drop for the third consecutive year since the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The rate of 18-to-34 year-olds without health insurance fell to 15.0 percent in 2015 from 17.2 percent in 2014 and 22.4 percent in 2013.

This drop reflects 5.2 million fewer uninsured young adults since 2013. Young adults make up 46 percent of the newly insured, despite only making up approximately 30 percent of the adult population, showing that this age group disproportionately benefits from the ACA.

“This new data shows that the ACA is working for more young people each year, with steady increases in coverage for an age group that has historically lacked coverage at higher rates than older Americans,” said Jen Mishory, Executive Director of Young Invincibles.

While we see improvements across the board for young adults this year, coverage for young Latinos improved by the most significant margins, as the rate of uninsured among this population has decreased from 28.5 percent in 2014 to 24.1 percent in 2015. This 15.3 percent drop is larger than the young white non-Hispanic decline of 12.1 percent, and the decline for young African Americans of 9 percent.