Premium Link
Upgrade
RENITA JABLONSKI: They're young. They're healthy. And they're betting they're going to stay that way. That's what they think -- 19 to 29-year-olds are the fastest-growing group of the uninsured in the U.S. -- roughly 13 million at last count. It's a market insurance companies are working to target by trying to make health plans super cool. From Georgia Public Broadcasting, Devin Dwyer has more.
DEVIN DWYER: After graduating college this spring in Atlanta, poli-sci major Joshua Miller stands around talking to classmates about the future. He's thinking about becoming a paralegal and maybe going on to law school. One thing that isn't on his mind, though, is health insurance.
JOSHUA MILLER{ I don't get sick that often, to be honest with you, so it hasn't really crossed my mind.
Like many 20-somethings, Miller has outgrown his parents' health policy and has no plans to buy his own.
MILLER: I can't afford it.
Studies show one-third of all college grads are uninsured the year after graduation. The numbers concern some policymakers, but insurance companies see the young and uninsured as a business opportunity.
Ads like this one, posted on YouTube by Blue Cross Blue Shield, are the latest trend in insurance marketing. Young people are shown having fun, grooving around a colorful dance floor. But then, one of them hits the ground and can't get up.
Sam Gibbs with eHealthInsurance.com says insurers are trying reach 20-somethings by focusing on favorite activities that can be hazardous to their health.
SAM GIBBS: You'll see young adults on skateboards and snowboards and, you know, that whole X-games, so by getting people early on to start participating in the health insurance marketplace, chances are they will stay with you for a long time.
But critics say no matter how "hip" insurers try to make health coverage, many uninsured young adults will always say no.
DR. SARA COLLINS: Ninety percent of people who sought coverage end up never buying a plan either because it's not affordable, or a plan that meets their needs.
Dr. Sara Collins is with the Commonwealth Fund, a private health policy research foundation. She says most uninsured young people earn less than $20,000 a year.
Still, companies have found some success with marketing to 19-29-year-olds. Wellpoint, parent company of Blue Cross Blue Shield, says 80,000 young adults have signed up for its individual plans. And 70 percent of those were previously uninsured.
RENITA JABLONSKI: They're young. They're healthy. And they're betting they're going to stay that way. That's what they think -- 19 to 29-year-olds are the fastest-growing group of the uninsured in the U.S. -- roughly 13 million at last count. It's a market insurance companies are working to target by trying to make health plans super cool. From Georgia Public Broadcasting, Devin Dwyer has more.
DEVIN DWYER: After graduating college this spring in Atlanta, poli-sci major Joshua Miller stands around talking to classmates about the future. He's thinking about becoming a paralegal and maybe going on to law school. One thing that isn't on his mind, though, is health insurance.
JOSHUA MILLER{ I don't get sick that often, to be honest with you, so it hasn't really crossed my mind.
Like many 20-somethings, Miller has outgrown his parents' health policy and has no plans to buy his own.
MILLER: I can't afford it.
Studies show one-third of all college grads are uninsured the year after graduation. The numbers concern some policymakers, but insurance companies see the young and uninsured as a business opportunity.
Ads like this one, posted on YouTube by Blue Cross Blue Shield, are the latest trend in insurance marketing. Young people are shown having fun, grooving around a colorful dance floor. But then, one of them hits the ground and can't get up.
Sam Gibbs with eHealthInsurance.com says insurers are trying reach 20-somethings by focusing on favorite activities that can be hazardous to their health.
SAM GIBBS: You'll see young adults on skateboards and snowboards and, you know, that whole X-games, so by getting people early on to start participating in the health insurance marketplace, chances are they will stay with you for a long time.
But critics say no matter how "hip" insurers try to make health coverage, many uninsured young adults will always say no.
DR. SARA COLLINS: Ninety percent of people who sought coverage end up never buying a plan either because it's not affordable, or a plan that meets their needs.
Dr. Sara Collins is with the Commonwealth Fund, a private health policy research foundation. She says most uninsured young people earn less than $20,000 a year.
Still, companies have found some success with marketing to 19-29-year-olds. Wellpoint, parent company of Blue Cross Blue Shield, says 80,000 young adults have signed up for its individual plans. And 70 percent of those were previously uninsured.
