A not too surprising stat reveals around “30 percent of 18-to-24-year-olds are uninsured in the United States.” Universal health-care anyone?
Here are some of the findings from the survey:
- The young workforce reported a lack of confidence in finding health benefits in the following common situations: if they become unemployed (35 percent); if their employer does not offer health benefits (31 percent); if they return to school (25 percent).
- Forty-seven percent of young workers who are covered under their parents’ plan don’t know what kind of plan they have.
- Nearly one-third (30 percent) of the young workforce depend on their parents for help when choosing health benefits.
- Young workers think 64 percent, or six out of every 10 people, they know are confused about health benefits.
- Forty-six percent of the young workforce say earning a higher salary is the most important thing they focus on when job hunting.
- Only eight percent rank health benefits as their top priority when looking for jobs.
- Fifty-eight percent of the young workforce surveyed say they reviewed their health benefits package for 30 minutes or less upon enrolling in a plan.
All of these responses are not surprising coming from 18-to-24-year-olds. If you are a healthy young person, which most young people are, you are not pre-occupied with health insurance.
Another stat was, “Instead of paying for health benefits, 70 percent would rather contribute a portion of their monthly earnings to paying down credit card debt, building their savings accounts or contributing to their 401k.” If this country is producing a next generation of people who are debt-free, have savings and retirement accounts from a young age then we are all in better shape.
I am not saying the youth should ignore health insurance or not have any. However, the bottom line is if a person is debt-free, has an emergency fund of at least 3-6 months of income and fully funded retirement accounts, not too mention other investments and savings then paying for healthcare will not be a problem.
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