College graduate decisions about health insurance

 Lindsay Straub says it was her "dream job." Straub graduates from college Saturday, and just a few weeks ago, she was offered an entry-level position with an entertainment company. "I was ecstatic," says Straub, 21, a communications major at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. "I was ready to make the phone call to accept the position." But just minutes before she was going to dial, her mother called with some bad news. She told Straub that come fall, she'll get kicked off the health insurance she currently has as a dependent through her mother's employer. This new job doesn't offer health insurance, so Straub had to turn down the job. "I was devastated," Straub says. But she was also realistic: "In this economy, who can afford out-of-pocket for every doctor, every dentist visit?" Unless she figures something out -- and fast -- Straub will become one of the millions of young Americans without health insurance. A report by the Commonwealth Fund last year showed that 34 percent of college graduates will spend some time uninsured in the year after graduation. The report also found that two-thirds of young adults ages 19 to 29 who spent time without insurance coverage in the past year had gone without needed medical care because it cost too much.  Watch more on getting health insurance if you're a recent college grad » Of course, the solution is to get a job that offers insurance, but that's not so easy these days. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, nearly 80 percent of recent college graduates who are looking for jobs haven't found one. "Lack of coverage and access to health care services puts the health of young adults at risk, and can subject them, as well as their families, to potentially dire financial consequences," says Sara Collins, co-author of The Commonwealth Fund report. Some college grads, like Straub, are furiously trying to figure out a way to get insurance. But others, dubbed the "young invincibles" think they don't need it since they're young and healthy. Watch a young invincible bike messenger talk about his experience But if something goes wrong -- a car accident, a cancer diagnosis -- a young, uninsured person could be in real trouble. According to the Commonwealth Fund study, half of uninsured young people said they were paying off medical bills or medical debt over time. So if you're about to graduate: Congratulations -- and welcome to the real world, where you'll need health insurance. Here are some ways to get it...

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Tags: Health Insurance News

This entry was posted on Monday, May 25th, 2009 at 6:34 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.