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HHS Targets Young Adults For Health Coverage

healthcare.gov

Federal health officials plan to focus on enrolling young adults in the Health Insurance Marketplace when open enrollment begins again this fall. As Heartland Health Monitor’s Bryan Thompson explains, that will protect them from the costs of unexpected illness or accidents, and make insurance more affordable for everyone else.

Younger and healthier adults are still more likely than average to remain uninsured. Many of them lose their coverage when they become too old for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Others become uninsured when they turn 26, and can no longer be on their parents’ plans.

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell has announced a new initiative to reach out to these young adults.

“Starting today, we’ll make it easier for issuers to reach out to young adults who are turning 26, and rolling off of their parents’ plans," she said. "And we’re going to partner with the IRS to conduct targeted outreach to the families who paid the fee for going uninsured, or claimed an exemption for 2015.”