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For First Time Since ACA’s Implementation, Rate of Young Adults Without Health Insurance Increases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 12, 2018
Contact: Paydon Miller
(202) 734-6543 | paydon.miller@younginvincibles.org

For First Time Since ACA’s Implementation, Rate of Young Adults Without Health Insurance Increases

Washington, DC – New data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau show that – for the first time since the Affordable Care Act was fully implemented – the young adult uninsured rate has increased.

After years of steadily declining rates of uninsurance among people ages 18-34, the new data show that 14.5 percent of young people are uninsured, an increase of .4 points from 2016. The number of uninsured young adults also increased for the first time since the ACA’s implementation, with 350,000 more young people living without insurance. The national insurance rate was unchanged, halting years of improving insurance rates.

These data are the first to measure the insurance rate during a year governed by the Trump administration.

“Young adults have benefited from the Affordable Care Act for years, with the uninsured rate dropping significantly every year,” said Tom Allison, Deputy Policy & Research Director for Young Invincibles. “It’s no secret the Trump administration is dead set on dismantling a law that has helped them get the care they need at a price they can afford. Now we’re officially moving backwards, back to a time when fewer young people were protected by quality, affordable health insurance.

These new data are further proof that the Trump administration is more focused on politically-motivated attempts to dismantle the ACA than it is helping America’s young people stay healthy.”

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