The ObamaCare enrollment period is upon us and the surprising fact is that 35% of the enrollees are young adults under 35.
Young adults enrolling in ObamaCare is good for everyone. Health insurance costs are often impacted by the people who are in what insurers call the “risk pool.” Older people tend to have more health issues. Young adults, on the other hand tend to have less. If there are many people in the risk pools who have varying degrees of health issues, that lowers the cost of healthcare for everyone.
If you are under 35 or have a young adult child who is under 35, here is what you should know:
- You can no longer be denied health insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions.This means that you can easily change jobs and don’t have to worry that you won’t be able to get healthcare from a different employer.
- There is no maximum cap on the total healthcare you use in your lifetime. In other words, if you get a serious illness, like cancer, you can’t be denied insurance coverage no matter how high the cost of your care is.
- Consider whether it’s cheaper to stay on a parent’s health plan. A parent may be able to add a child under the age of 26 for little or no cost compared to the cost for him or her to buy insurance from the health exchange.
If you are a young adult and you have not signed up for coverage yet, open enrollment began on November 15, 2014 and ends on February 15, 2015. However, if you have a “qualifying life event,” such as losing your job, you will have 60 days to sign up for ObamaCare.
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