Posted on 08/30/2009 6:22:11 PM PDT by Steelfish
Healthcare reform's biggest fans: young adults
They account for 30% of the uninsured population and are the group most supportive of Obama's plan -- though quietly. Experts differ on how an overhaul would affect them.
[Pic in URL] Abby Berendt Lavoi, 27, poses for a portrait in San Francisco.
By Kim Geiger August 30, 2009
Reporting from Washington - When Abby Berendt Lavoi graduated from college, she got a job in New York making television commercials as a full-time contractor for one of the largest media companies in the world. She was eligible for health insurance only after she had been working there for a year.
Ten months into the job, Berendt Lavoi came down with painful stomach cramps. Terrified, she used Google to find a hospital that would accept patients without insurance, and underwent surgery to remove an ovarian cyst the size of a softball. The bills came to $12,000. With no savings or assets, Berendt Lavoi turned to her parents, who refinanced their home to pay.
Berendt Lavoi is cited by the Democratic congressional leadership as an example of the many young adults who work but don't have the money or the opportunity to buy insurance.
Adults 18 to 29 are the group most supportive of President Obama's plan to overhaul healthcare, according to a recent poll by SurveyUSA. They are also the age group that most supports creating a government-run health insurance option.
Young people account for 30% of the uninsured population, according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, a health policy research foundation.
They are least likely to be offered health insurance through employment benefits -- just 53% of working young adults are eligible for employer-based coverage. And since their incomes tend to be low, buying coverage on their own is usually too expensive.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Brainwashed by the NEA.
Yup, the “sumptin’-for-nuttin’” crowd. Leeches. They’ll make all of us suffer for their short-sighted ignorance.
Selling their souls to the Devil. I hope that they are happy with what they get.
I have had health insurance my entire life, from college until now (30+ years).
Because someone CHOOSES not to get insurance that does not mean they should be GIVEN it.
Health insurance for the young crowd is not that expensive. They probably spend as much on a monthly cell phone service as they’d spend on a monthly health insurance plan, however, I suspect for most of them having a cell phone is more of a priority if they had to choose between the 2.
When I was growing up it was never trust anyone over 30. I guess that has changed now never trust anyone under 30 thanks to the indoctrination system.
Exactly. An under 30 able-bodied person can get the cheapest health insurance in the country. The LA Times are liars. You’d think someone in the journalist world would get off their duffs and actually investigate issues before writing BS like this. But then again, I guess it’s a lot easier to reprint the DNC talking points coming in over the fax machine.
Something tells me you're not talking about the US Navy.
The accident happened about one week before those six weeks were up. I was up a crick. When the ambulance took me to the nearest hospital for emergency treatment, I told them I had no insurance. They did what they could and sent me on to the Los Angeles County Hospital, where I spent the next three weeks in the burn ward. It was hell. My parents were angry with me when they found out why I didn't ask for help-- it was my decision not to buy the insurance; it was up to me to deal with the consequences. So I did. It educated me to the importance of medical insurance.
I don’t get to have government agents take from others by force whatever I happen to need. Why should Obama supports get such privileges?
Actually I would put that number somewhat higher ... maybe ... maybe 40
she had to wait a year? Usually it is 90 days.
22 here. Conservative since I started following politics in middle school. I wish that others weren’t so easily brainwashed.
It was sad, on campus, that I met only a small handful of conservative-minded people and those on campus who did vote, well, you guessed it, voted in mindless droves for Obamadinejad.
The future generation of “real-worlders” looks bleak. They can’t think for themselves, don’t understand the concept of consequences, spew forth “feel-good” ideas, can’t critically analyze, follow, obey and anything else that results from them not having individual thoughts.
Liberalism is for the weak-minded.
Almost anyone can afford a high-deductible insurance policy when they are young. I am 26 and got something for around $100 a month by searching the Internet. It has a large deductible but I have that stashed in the bank.
One thing that needs changed is the tax policy that those who get insurance from their employer get a tax deduction but those who buy it individually (like myself) don’t.
Health insurance for college students is available for $30 a month.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.