The Washington Post:
In part, young adults are uninsured because they are less likely to work for employers who offer coverage; they may not qualify for public programs such as Medicaid; and even the skimpiest private insurance plans may be too expensive alongside hefty student loan payments and credit card debt.
But some young people -- nicknamed the "young invincibles" -- are also likelier than other Americans to assume that they won't need health insurance or to decide that they'd rather spend their money on other things.
To discourage that attitude, the Finance Committee bill would fine individuals who do not purchase coverage. An early draft of the proposal set the penalty at $750 or $950 per year for single people, depending on income. But according to various insurance experts, even the least expensive plan under the bill could cost more than $100 per month, making it cheaper for people to pay the fine than to buy insurance.
Young adults are "needed" to pay for older people's care:
Drafting young adults into any health-care reform package is crucial to paying for it. As low-cost additions to insurance pools, young adults would help dilute the expense of covering older, sicker people. Depending on how Congress requires insurers to price their policies, this group could even wind up paying disproportionately hefty premiums -- effectively subsidizing coverage for their parents.
...
But it's also essential that young, healthy people participate, said Linda J. Blumberg, a health-care expert at the Urban Institute, because the requirement that people have insurance "is really a mechanism for financing health-care reform."
The more people steered into the system through such a mandate, Blumberg and others explained, the lower the total subsidies that the government must provide to keep insurance affordable. But if young people slip through the cracks -- or if Congress, facing political pressure, provides generous exemptions from the mandate -- then the government and people who buy coverage will face higher costs.
Our demographic gives the president the most support, gives reform the most support and are most optimistic compared with older cranks, but there's no Youth Lobby, is there?
About 52 percent of young adults support the idea of the individual mandate, about the same proportion as in other age groups. But in terms of the overall package, the under-30 group broadly supports the Democratic effort, with 60 percent favoring the proposed reforms vs. 42 percent among older adults.
And while the number is down from its high point, 63 percent of under-30s approve of Obama's overall job performance, significantly more than in other age groups.
Given the implications of reform, advocates for young voters wonder why they haven't commanded special attention from the White House and Congress, as have seniors, union households and industry stakeholders.
"We can do our part, but we need to hear from the people who are making the policy decisions," said Heather Smith, executive director of Rock the Vote, a nonprofit group aimed at drawing young people into the political process.
Along with other pro-reform organizations, Rock the Vote has begun a national advertising and grass-roots campaign to educate young adults about the emerging legislation. But Smith said she was frustrated that Obama offered few assurances to young adults in his speech before Congress last week, instead chastising as "irresponsible" those who don't buy coverage.
The under-30 crowd remains by far the president's most loyal following, Smith noted. "He needs to talk to them," she said. "Writ large, they are struggling; they are the uninsured."
The reporter had to find ... Rock the Vote to comment. That's what we have to argue for us? Rock the Vote? No offense to them, but that's not cutting it. We don't have AARP, we fall through the cracks.
Oh, and these co-ops are completely unproven, says the much-hallowed Congressional Budget Office.
And Obama seems willing to go along with all of this.
Max Baucus's health-care reform bill = FAIL
Notice some of his quotes here (this is from yesterday, as he was announcing the bill, officially):
"This is our moment in history"
"... Keeping the insurance companies honest"
Please.
(Just click on his face to make him stop talking ... in absence of a play button ... Washington Post....)
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Update: Tim Noah says the "invincibles," 25 and under, will come out looking decent since the bill has a lower premium for them. It's everyone else that's screwed.
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