Graduation may be hazardous to y...( New York City May 21 2003--A new repo...),Health

New York City, May 21, 2003--A new report from The Commonwealth Fund reveals that nearly two of five college graduates and half of high school graduates who don't go on to college will have a time without health insurance in the first year after graduation. Young adults are often dropped from their parents' policies or public insurance programs at age 19, or when they graduate from college, and then struggle to find jobs with health benefits. They are far more likely to be uninsured than older adults: more than four of 10 young adults between the ages of 1929 can expect to be uninsured at some time during the year--twice the rate of adults ages 30 to 64. The problem has worsened over the last decade, with young adults from low-income households the hardest hit.

"At a time of life when people start families and establish life-long health habits, young adults far too often can't get the health care they need," said Karen Davis, president of The Commonwealth Fund. "It's a cruel irony that young men and women who stay in school, graduate, and enter the job market are simply dropped from the health care system."

"Conventional wisdom says that young people are healthy, but the fact is they have health care needs that can't be ignored," said Sara R. Collins, senior program officer at the Fund and lead author of the report. "Three and a half million women in their 20s become pregnant every year, and young adults are far more likely than older people or children to sustain injuries that require trips to the emergency room."

Jobs available to young adults are often low-wage or temporary, and typically do not provide health insurance, according to the report, Rite of Passage? Why Young Adults Become Uninsured and How New Policies Can Help, by Sara R. Collins, Cathy Schoen, and Katie Tenney of The Commonwealth Fund. The report points to targeted policy options that could extend coverage to more young adults and help others keep it.

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Contact: Mary Mahon
mm@cmwf.org
212-606-3853
Commonwealth Fund
21-May-2003

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