Affordable Care Act Helps One Million Young Adults Gain Health Insurance Coverage

Rep. Charles B. Rangel has announced new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing that the Affordable Care Act has significantly increased health insurance coverage among young adults. According to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the percentage of adults between the ages of 19 and 25 with health insurance increased by 3.5 percentage points in the first quarter of 2011, representing approximately one million additional young adults with insurance coverage compared to the previous year. This breakthrough is attributed to the Patient's Bill of Rights, which allows most young adults to remain on their parents' health plan until age 26 and prohibits insurers from dropping people from coverage when they get sick.

Key Takeaways:

• The Affordable Care Act has helped one million additional young adults to get health insurance, with a 3.5 percentage point increase in health insurance coverage among adults aged 19-25 in the first quarter of 2011.
• The Patient's Bill of Rights, which includes provisions such as remaining on parents' health plan until age 26 and prohibiting insurers from dropping coverage when sick, is credited for this increase.
• The results from the CDC were also confirmed by a Gallup survey, showing a drop in the number of uninsured adults aged 18-25 from 28% last fall to 24.2% this summer.
• Rep. Charles B. Rangel stated that healthcare reform has put Americans and their families back in charge of their healthcare, and that repealing the Affordable Care Act would leave one million young adults without insurance, increase costs for millions on Medicare, and leave 10 million in New York vulnerable to lifetime limits.
• House Republicans voted unanimously to repeal the Affordable Care Act on January 19, 2011, despite the benefits of the reform.

Statistics:

• 1 million young adults gained health insurance coverage
• 3.5 percentage point increase in health insurance coverage among adults aged 19-25 in the first quarter of 2011
• 28% drop in uninsured adults aged 18-25 between last fall and this summer, as reported by Gallup (24.2%)
• 4 percentage point decline in the percentage of 18- to 25-year-olds who report being uninsured since the Patient's Bill of Rights went into effect in September 2010, as reported by Gallup

Sources:

• Rep. Charles B. Rangel (15th CD), news release dated September 21
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data
• Gallup, survey dated September 21
• House Republicans, unanimous vote to repeal Affordable Care Act on January 19, 2011