Friends with (Healthcare) Benefits: Nearly 1 Million Young Adults Receive Health Insurance Under Affordable Care Act

College students frequently desecrate their bodies as a result of indulging in their favorite vice.  Whether it’s consuming mass amounts of alcohol, participating in unprotected sex, binging on fast food, or abusing prescription amphetamines to stay up all night and study, students are exposed to health risks on a regular basis.  In the past, possessing expensive health insurance remained a pipe dream for many struggling undergraduates.  Today, thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), an additional one million adults between the ages of 19 and 25 are now covered by insurance.

Referred to as ‘Obamacare’ by Republicans, the ACA established the legal right to affordable healthcare.  Perhaps the most important revision for students, the ACA allows those younger than 26 years old to remain covered by their parent’s insurance plan.  No other age group experienced a gain in coverage.  Another benefit includes the availability of preventive procedures, such as flu vaccines, birth control, and cancer screenings, to students without healthcare.  Also, insurance companies may no longer cite ‘preexisting conditions’ as a reason to not cover students. 

Many students would opt out of purchasing their own healthcare in order to save on expenses.  “I would just roll the dice.  Health insurance is a big scam,” said Mackenzie Moylan, 22 year-old FSU senior.

FSU’s Brady Health center does not accept health insurance and students are responsible for payment of fees at the time of their care.  Although FSU does not have a specific student health insurance plan, the American College Student Association is listed on Brady Health’s website as a provider of student injury and sickness plans.

The ACA provides tremendous relief for students concerned about losing their insurance or having it capped because of an accident.  Unexpected health emergencies serve as an inconvenience for students in the midst of intensive study, the last thing they should have to worry about are medical bills.  Last winter, Bruno Yoffe, senior at FSU, broke his kidney following an epic snowboarding accident.  “I’m now covered until 2015 because of the new healthcare policy,” he said.  Yoffe will return to the slopes this winter with a sense of security towards any future medical treatment needs.  “I can destroy my body all I want and it will cost me nothing,” he said.

The rate of young adults without coverage is almost double the national average because most entry-level jobs do not offer health benefits.  Also, many view health insurance as expendable and choose to gamble on whether or not they would need expensive medical treatment. 

Overall, the ACA represents a vast improvement to American healthcare coverage by closing a majority of the gaps and loopholes in the system.  The act is financially supported through tax increases, as well as a reduction in the growth of Medicare.

Under the new health care law, most Americans will need some kind of health insurance by 2014.

Every year, harsh winter weather triggers an abundance of common cold and flu cases.  Additionally, college students are prone to injuries that are reflective of their lifestyle decisions.  New healthcare rights for college students provide a safer future and help to remove some of the risk out of otherwise enjoyable activities.