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Obamacare: A Reason To Believe
Jonathan Cohn at TNR finds one:
Need a reason to believe the Affordable Care Act is starting to work? The Census Bureau just gave you a half million of them.
That’s how many young adults had health insurance in 2010, as compared to 2009, according to the official estimates. Or, to put it another way, the proportion of 18- to 24-year olds without health insurance fell, by roughly two percentage points, last year.
It’s pretty remarkable, given what was happening in the rest of the population. For every other group of non-elderly adults, from 35 through 64 years of age, the proportion without health insurance increased. (See the graph above.)
Memorandum discussion.
6 Responses to “Obamacare: A Reason To Believe”
Not to be picky here, but how is an increase in 1 out of 5 demographics a sign of success?
The law requires insurers to cover young adults up to 26 on their parents’ policy, so the result makes sense. More young people are covered, and fewer of their parents are. Here in the Department of Low Bars, we consider that a success.
So does this encourage young folks to stay at home, leeching off their folks, for longer and longer?
I don’t think staying at home is required, but leeching seems like a no-brainer.
After age 26, of course, it’s supposed to work the other way. The individual mandate is supposed to compel young, healthy people who might otherwise decline insurance to buy it, whereby the older generation can leech off them…much like Medicare. Thus the subsidy wars rage on.
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