On Friday, Young Invincibles released a state guide with recommendations on how to best implement provisions of health care reform for young adults. The report, titled, “Implementing the Affordable Care Act for Young Invincibles: A State Guide for Health Care Reform for Millennials” identifies five major pieces of the ACA that disproportionately impact young people, and that state policymakers can have a significant role in implementing.  The five areas are:

o   The dependent coverage extension up to age 26,
o   College health plan reforms,
o   Catastrophic plan offerings directed at young adults,
o   The establishment of Exchanges, and
o   The expansion of Medicaid to childless low-income adults.

There’s no question that expanded access to a parent’s plan, better student health insurance coverage, private insurance options that are understandable and affordable, and public insurance that is more available mean a huge potential for higher coverage rates for our generation.  While about 27% of young people say they are uninsured, only about 5% of young people are uninsured by choice: the rest say they cannot afford it, they don’t have access to employer-sponsored coverage, or they have a pre-existing condition.  A strong state implementation role in the five areas identified in the report will go a long way to removing those barriers over the next few years – indeed, with one million previously uninsured young adults now on their parent’s plan, it already has.

Check out the full report to find out more ways that states can further expand youth access to health coverage!