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New Bill Would Lower the Cost of Coverage for 4 Million Uninsured Young Adults

Young adults have always been uninsured at rates far exceeding the national average. But contrary to what some may suggest, that’s not because young people don’t want or think they need health insurance; it’s that too many financial barriers have stood in the way of young people being able to afford coverage. The ACA helped millions of young people gain health insurance, cutting the group’s uninsured rate in half. Unfortunately, some young adults continue to struggle to afford coverage.

The good news is that last week Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced a new bill in the U.S. Senate called the Advancing Youth Enrollment (AYE) Act that would help more of these young people get covered by enhancing premium tax credits for more than 4 million uninsured young adults. With the typical uninsured young person making just $20,000 a year, this extra financial assistance would help more young people have the financial security they need to purchase a plan and get covered.

How would it work and who would qualify? Medicaid- and CHIP-ineligible young adults (ages 18 to 30) earning between 100 and 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (or roughly $12,000 to $49,000 a year) would see the maximum percent of their income they must pay toward insurance premiums go down by 2.5 percent. This would reduce monthly premiums for young people by roughly $50 a month. This would help nearly 300,000 young adults get a health plan with no deductible for free and another 200,000 get a plan with no deductible for $23 a month or less. Qualifying individuals between the ages of 31 and 34 would also be eligible for increased financial assistance, just to a slightly smaller degree. In fact, under the proposal, roughly 104,000 32 to 34 year-olds would be eligible for no deductible plans for $15 to $52 a month.*

Take 31 year-old small business owner Sadie from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. She makes $35,000 a year and currently pays $270 a month for a silver plan. Under AYE, Sadie would see her premium tax credit go up $58 a month, bringing the cost of her silver plan down to $212 a month. Sadie told us that that extra $700 a year will help her business. She will be able to continue employing the part-time help she hired last fall — currently she has to monitor staff hours very closely and scale them back if business is slow. More young people with coverage, jobs, and greater financial security? Count us in!

Young people in the states (like Sadie’s Wisconsin) that have refused to expand Medicaid under the ACA could actually see some of the greatest gains under the AYE Act. While these states are unquestionably ill-serving their constituents, young people are experiencing medical and financial emergencies for which they need the benefits of health coverage. Under AYE, young people from the 19 non-expansion states represent 56 percent of the uninsured young adults who would be eligible for enhanced premium tax credits.** All members of Congress, but particularly those from these states, should follow Senator Baldwin’s lead to expand access to coverage. These low-income youth can’t — and shouldn’t have to — wait for the next election cycle to pass to see if their state leaders will embrace Medicaid expansion and actually help them get health coverage.

Check out how many uninsured young people in your state could benefit from the Advancing Youth Enrollment Act, and then write your Senator and ask them to cosponsor this important piece of legislation, because it’s time to build on the successes of the ACA, not unwind them.

State

Number of uninsured marketplace-eligible young adults (19-34)

Number of uninsured marketplace-eligible young adults (19-34) who could receive enhanced tax credits under AYE

Percent of uninsured marketplace-eligible young adults (19-34) who are eligible for subsidies

Alabama

113,000

72,000

63.72%

Alaska

34,000

18,000

52.94%

Arizona

189,000

99,000

52.38%

Arkansas

63,000

33,000

52.38%

California

723,000

316,000

43.71%

Colorado

167,000

78,000

46.71%

Connecticut

45,000

29,000

64.44%

Delaware

23,000

12,000

52.17%

District of Columbia

9,000

3,000

33.33%

Florida

681,000

355,000

52.13%

Georgia

381,000

185,000

48.56%

Hawai’i

21,000

6,000

28.57%

Idaho

29,000

23,000

79.31%

Illinois

275,000

131,000

47.64%

Indiana

150,000

63,000

42.00%

Iowa

57,000

35,000

61.40%

Kansas

87,000

58,000

66.67%

Kentucky

66,000

37,000

56.06%

Louisiana

148,000

65,000

43.92%

Maine***

19,000

11,000

57.89%

Maryland

95,000

50,000

52.63%

Massachusetts

79,000

36,000

45.57%

Michigan

196,000

113,000

57.65%

Minnesota

47,000

16,000

34.04%

Mississippi

124,000

69,000

55.65%

Missouri

152,000

92,000

60.53%

Montana

25,000

10,000

40.00%

Nebraska

30,000

19,000

63.33%

Nevada

75,000

42,000

56.00%

New Hampshire

26,000

10,000

38.46%

New Jersey

154,000

81,000

52.60%

New Mexico

61,000

26,000

42.62%

New York

320,000

132,000

41.25%

North Carolina

338,000

184,000

54.44%

North Dakota

18,000

7,000

38.89%

Ohio

207,000

103,000

49.76%

Oklahoma

114,000

72,000

63.16%

Oregon

50,000

33,000

66.00%

Pennsylvania

207,000

130,000

62.80%

Rhode Island

14,000

6,000

42.86%

South Carolina

145,000

88,000

60.69%

South Dakota

23,000

11,000

47.83%

Tennessee

230,000

117,000

50.87%

Texas

1,132,000

673,000

59.45%

Utah

104,000

68,000

65.38%

Vermont

10,000

4,000

40.00%

Virginia

201,000

83,000

41.29%

Washington

140,000

73,000

52.14%

West Virginia

43,000

15,000

34.88%

Wisconsin

126,000

81,000

64.29%

Wyoming

16,000

10,000

62.50%

TOTAL FOR ALL STATES

7,782,000

4,083,000

52.47%

TOTAL FOR NON-EXPANSION STATES

4,045,000

2,271,000

56.14%

Source: Young Invincibles’ analysis of US Census 2017 Current Population Survey data.

* Young Invincibles analysis of US Census 2017 Current Population Survey data for marketplace-eligible uninsured young adults eligible for tax credits earning between 100 and 150 FPL. Premium calculations computed using Kaiser Subsidy Calculator. Deductible values come from Kaiser Family Foundation Impact of Cost Sharing Reductions on Deductibles and Out-Of-Pocket Limits report.

** 2.271 million of the 4.083 million uninsured marketplace-eligible young adults (or 55.6 percent) live in non-expansion states and could qualify for enhanced subsidies under AYE.

*** Maine voted via ballot referendum to expand Medicaid in November 2017, however given that Governor LePage’s refusal to implement the expansion, Young Invincibles has included Maine among the list of states that have not expanded Medicaid under the ACA.