You don’t have to be a senior, a small child, sick, or have high blood pressure to need health insurance. All people should have health coverage, because a temporary illness, injury, or serious diagnosis can happen at any time.
And that's without mentioning the importance of preventative care, which helps ensure young adults can grow healthy and strong.
Young adults should think about getting health insurance--and there are many options for people under 30.
The first thing you should know is that you can stay on your parents’ health plan until you turn 26, one of the most popular decisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). To keep this coverage, you don’t need to be claimed as a dependent on your parents’ tax return (you’re a little old for that!), and you don’t have to live under the same roof.
If you’re working and your employer offers health insurance, but you prefer your parents’ plan, you can still stay on it until you turn 26.
That said, if you are studying in another state or move to another part of the country for work, for example, you can keep your family’s insurance, but you will need to check whether their doctor and provider network covers the region you’re living in.
There are also other options:
- You can purchase a plan for yourself through your state’s Health Insurance Marketplace. All plans sold through the Marketplace must cover essential health benefits. Depending on your income, you might be eligible to receive assistance to reduce the cost of your plan’s premiums and/or cost sharing.
Click here to find your state’s Health Insurance Marketplace
- If your income is below 138% of the federal poverty level ($16,753 for a single person in 2019), you may qualify for Medicaid. Not all states have chosen to expand Medicaid eligibility to this income level. Check with your state’s Marketplace for more information on eligibility.
- Adults under 30 can purchase special policies called Catastrophic plans, which have lower premiums but high deductibles. Premium and cost-sharing subsidies are not available for Catastrophic plans.
- If you are a student, you can enroll in the student health coverage offered by your college or university.
What Is a Student Health Plan?
Colleges offer health coverage options to students. In general, there are two types of coverage: a standard policy with minimum coverage, and another policy called a “fully insured” plan, which covers services offered by health plans under the ACA, from hospitalizations and prescriptions to maternity and rehabilitation services.
Now, if you’re an American student who plans to study abroad, you should also think about health coverage.
Although you will no longer pay a fine for not having insurance starting in 2019 (at least in most of the country), it is still important to have a health plan in case you get sick or hurt. For this reason, you should explore your health coverage options while studying abroad.
What Is a Catastrophic Plan?
A Catastrophic plan is a qualified health plan offered through the Health Insurance Marketplace that covers essential health benefits and has high deductibles.
In 2019, under a Catastrophic plan, the annual deductible for covered services will be $7,900 for an individual. Once you hit the deductible (what you pay out-of-pocket for your health care), the plan will pay 100% of covered essential health services for the rest of the year.
These health plans can also be purchased outside the Marketplace.
Sources: healthcare.gov, KFF, CMS
- Need help purchasing health insurance? Call us at 866-295-1220 or leave us your information here and we will contact you.