Sunday, October 25, 2009
Young adults characterize the largest group of uninsured people while they also increasingly report mental health issues in college. The San Jose Mercury News reports: "Young adults aged 19 to 29 are less well-protected by health insurance than any other age group in America: Almost one in three have no insurance and many more are under insured. And as the country grapples over how to provide coverage to Americans, figuring out how to cover young adults all income levels has become a tricky and significant subtext in the reform debate."
Young adults who have graduated from college and are engaged do not essentially have health insurance either since many first jobs don't offer affordable health plans. "Young adults comprise about 18 percent of the adult population but make up 28 percent of the overall uninsured adult population, according to the Urban Institute.
In California, parents can cover up their children until age 19 and in some instances until age 23 if they are full-time college students. At least 20 other states have increased the age of covering dependents into the mid-20s.
Meanwhile, NPR reports that colleges are considering a rise in the number of students who seek counseling help for mental health issues. Daniel Eisenberg, director of the University of Michigan's Healthy Minds Study, notes that over 90 percent of counseling services are reporting that, they are seeing an increase in the number and severity of students with mental health problems.
"Eisenberg and all other experts say they haven't yet teased out all the reasons behind the surge of mental health issues on campus, but think it doubtful that today's teenagers are more psychologically disturbed than past generations. Other explanations seem more likely. Better screening and earlier diagnosis of mental illness in high school and even before may be one factor."
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