Health insurance for young adults is a hot topic these days. It’s not so simple to find the best health insurance for young adults, however, because there are a number of rules and regulations involved in qualifications.
A lot of younger people who are just starting out in their careers or who are still university students, and therefore are cash-strapped, tell themselves that the most affordable health insurance for young adults is-none!
It’s easy to think that when you’re in your early 20s, you have no congenital health problems and have never been seriously injured, and your financial means are limited you really don’t need to worry about health insurance anyway.
Need to use the emergency room or see the doctor for a check-up? You’ll just pay the bill in cash, since it won’t be all that much. You can always buy OTC medicines for your headache or sniffles.
But, what if you slip and fall or get into a car accident and have broken bones? What if you come down with a very severe illness such as pneumonia? Accidents and extreme events can happen even to the healthiest of young adults. And if those events do happen, you’re looking at, possibly, thousands of dollars of medical costs.
Health Insurance For Young Adults Is A Very Important Product
Finding the best health insurance for young adults has to be high on your list of priorities even if you are 22, athletic, and just getting your undergraduate degree.
So, let’s look at how to plan to acquire the best health insurance for young adults. As someone who is presumably under the age of 30, you’ll need it when you least expect it.
First, if you are going straight from high school into the work force, nowadays you can try to remain covered under your parents’ healths insurance. In the United States, new laws have made it pretty easy to remain on this plan until you are 26, and some of the individual states even allow for it beyond that age.
The downside, however, is that this is not a free ride-and your parents may not be, shall we say, be enthusiastic about it unless you are working and can pay them your fair share of the increased premiums.
(The law only says that you are eligible for this coverage; it does not force your parents to keep you on their policy once you turn 18.) So don’t even try this unless your parents are wealthy and doting, or you do have a job and you can afford to pay them the extra amount of their premiums for your coverage.
Second, let’s say that your parents do agree to this plan, but then one or both them are laid off. There is a US federal law known as COBRA that says you can retain your coverage, at the same premium rate, for a maximum of 18 months. However, there is a small administrative charge to use COBRA health insurance plan extensions.
Your parents can keep you on their health insurance policy now even if you are unemployed until the age of 26. However…you’re wise not to rely on this. Put yourself in their shoes. If you had worked hard to make your money for decades and then your child couldn’t find a job but begged to stay on your own health insurance policy, driving up your premiums (even at a law-enforced discounted premium rate), how would you feel? How would you respond?
But you may very well be going to college or university out of high school. In this case, if your parents don’t agree to carry you on their health insurance, you can nearly always get health insurance for young adults while you are an undergraduate, whether at a public or a private institution. However, once again this is not a free ride. As of this writing the average annual premium cost is $850. What’s more, if you are only going part-time you may not be eligible.
Of course, the best health insurance for young adults is usually the plan that they can get through their workplace. But what if you are very ambitious and become self-employed while you’re still just in your 20s? You’ll really need to compare plans then. And now, when you thought you had all angles covered, you also need to consider Unemployed Health Insurance because if unemployment occurs it will be a bigger issue then, than it is now while you are still employed. If you are a young female adult who expects, plans or could even be likely to become pregnant you will find from Health Insurance Maternity that you need to proactively put appropriate cover in place quite some time before you conceive.
If you are healthy and have a healthy lifestyle, it is probably best for you to opt for a high deductible health insurance plan. This means you will need to pay a significant amount of money out of pocket before the insurance coverage kicks in, but it also keeps your premiums low.
You can also find HMO health insurance policies that offer lower co-pay rates in exchange for higher premiums-which could be good for you if you’re one of those younger people who are good at managing regular payments but don’t have much money for when the unexpected comes up.
Figuring out the best health insurance for young adults is no easy matter. There is no blanket solution to the conundrum of the best health insurance for young adults. Consider your own situation and the array of choices out there when making your decision.
