The official banner for the NY Health Plan Marketplace. Photo Credit: New York State.
Navigating life in your early 20s as either a college student, a new grad, or an employed person in this age is not easy. Between loans, daily expenses, and explosive rents, life gets tricky and quite expensive.
One area of life where things can seem daunting and confusing is managing health insurance and health information. As college students, many of us are still under our parents’ health insurance. When the Affordable Care Act was passed by the Obama administration, the age at which young adults would lose their parents’ health coverage was changed from twenty-one to twenty-six.
So what happens when you turn twenty-six and are left with no healthcare plan?
If a young person has a full time job with benefits when they lose their parents’ health coverage, the best place to go would be the Human Resources department of said job.
If a young person is unemployed when they lose their health coverage, the first place to start would be New York State’s Individual Marketplace. According to their webpage, “The Marketplace gives you an easy way to compare health insurance plans so you can choose the one that’s right for your health needs and budget.”
As someone who found their health insurance through the Marketplace, the process was relatively quick and painless. In total, the sign up time only took about an hour. The toughest part was looking through each individual plan and seeing what works for personal health needs.
As young people, we are not prepared for some of the life changes that we are challenged with. It is important to be aware of health insurance and what benefits come along with it. If you are not sure what benefits your health insurance provider offers, start by going on their website and reading their benefits package.
