Recent college grads searching for employment, young professionals whose employers do not offer coverage, and even young married couples without insurance will all be able to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until the age of 26. The following blog posts number among the many celebrating the benefits of health reform for young Americans:

• Aaron Smith of Young Invincibles writes:

You’re young, but you’re not invincible. If you are injured or get sick, quality medical care can save and drastically improve your life. Medical care makes a huge difference in how you feel, and in how quickly you get back to the things that matter to you after an accident or illness. Health insurance can also help you avoid health concerns before they become major problems, by providing low-cost preventive care and check-ups with your doctor.

Read more:  Young Invincibles- What Getting Covered Means for Young People

• Dawn Comer Jefferson shares a touching story about the tragic consequences when young adults are unable to afford medical care:

The health care bill passed six months ago.  Many people are still angry.  Some are making threats.  Others fear this new law will take away their freedom instead of improving the quality of their lives.  Anger, threats, fear…I understand those feelings and share them, but in a very different way.

I am angry when I think of my twenty-three year old friend who died from kidney failure because he didn’t have health insurance and was no longer covered on his parents’ policy once he’d graduated from college.  Even now, almost two decades later, I remember visiting him in the hospital room. He’d already slipped into a coma by the time I’d arrived at County, the Los Angeles hospital known for handling low income and indigent cases.  I crowded into the tiny room with his mother and another friend and we sat, watching his labored breathing, not knowing, but suspecting that in a few hours, he’d be gone.

Read more:  Anger, Threats and Fear - six months later

• Timothy Jost highlights the importance of young adult access to coverage:

Although [young adults are] on the whole quite healthy, [they are] far from invincible.  One study found that injury-related emergency room visits were more common for young adults than for either children or older adults, with nearly one-quarter of 18 to 29 year-olds having had an emergency room visit in the preceding year.”

Read more:  Implementing Health Reform: Young Adult Coverage

• Timothy Chapman, Althea Fung, and Allison Chopin’s piece illustrates the critical need for young adult coverage:

According to a 2009 survey by the Commonwealth Fund, more than 75 percent of young adults surveyed were forgoing care because of the cost. Those who did seek treatment paid twice as much as people with insurance. In paying for care, 31 percent said they had postponed education or career plans to pay health-care bills, and about half asked their parents for assistance.

Read more:  Health-care reform will help young adults get coverage

For more great blog posts about health care reform, check out our health care blog carnival here. Thank you!