Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
Uninsured young adults dealing with illness, injury themselves andoverma
Massachusetts attorney Thomas M. Kiley, http://www.tomkileylaw.com, concentrates on legal cases regarding health issues. An article in the New York Times describes the effect of the recession on uninsured young adults.
According to the article, young adults who can’t afford health insurance are borrowing leftover prescription drugs from friends, self-diagnosing illnesses through online sources, stretching medicines as long as possible, and even setting their own broken bones. When they have to go to the emergency room, they can’t afford the bills they get.
Young adults make up the largest group of uninsured people today, 13.2 million nationally in 2007, or 29%, according to the Commonwealth Fund in New York. Some health care advocacy groups are urging states to ease eligibility requirements so young adults up to age 29 can continue to be covered by their parents’ health insurance. Gov. David A. Paterson of New York is proposing that 80,000 of the 775,000 uninsured young adults in New York State be covered under their parents’ health insurance plans.
Young adults are particularly vulnerable because they are losing their jobs, have jobs that don’t have health insurance, are new to the work force, or have low-paying jobs while living in a city with a high cost of living.
According to the article, most family insurance policies cut off dependents when they turn 19 or finish college, and many young adults start out in large cities at part-time or freelance work with no benefits. To qualify for Medicaid, a single adult can earn no more than $706 a month — less than what a full-time minimum-wage earner makes. Yet the average insurance premium for a single adult is $900 a month, according to a spokesman for the State Insurance Department.
Some young adults are using online resources like WebMD that provide news, descriptions of diseases and drugs, and discussion groups. Unfortunately, self medicating sometimes results in a trip to the emergency room because they have taken the wrong antibiotics borrowed from friends.
New York and some other cities have clinics or mobile units that provide free or cheap medical help, like Community Healthcare Network. Recently, CHN offered teens and young adults free movie tickets to visit the mobile unit and get medical assistance. They also offered a teen-produced video series on relationships and sexual health.
Community Healthcare Network (CHN), http://www.chnnyc.org, is a not-for-profit organization that provides access to affordable, comprehensive community-based primary care, mental health, and social services for diverse populations in underserved communities throughout New York City. The services are confidential and as a Federally Qualified Health Center CHN does not turn anyone away.
CHN serves more than 60,000 individuals a year who would otherwise have little or no access to health care. CHN also has financial representatives available to assist young adults in enrolling in health plans and insurance programs. CHN’s health centers and offices are located in the boroughs of Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. CHN also operates two medical mobile units offering health services to those unable to visit a health center. In some cases, this includes teaching young adults to take better care of themselves so they don’t need medical care, such as watching their diet and getting exercise.
CHN's approach to patient care is holistic, taking into account not only a client's physical well-being, but also their mental and social well-being. The services include:
* Primary Care
* HIV Care
* Mental Health Care
* Health Education
* Women’s Health Care
* Social Services (including our specialized Adolescent Services program, Teens P.A.C.T.)
