Protect Yourself

On June 19, Rock the Vote street teams will join up with thousands of others to Bridge the Gap in Healthcare, marching across bridges all over the nation to symbolize the divide between those of us who have healthcare and those who don’t. Walking alongside partner organizations Americans for Healthcare and Jobs with Justice, Rock the Vote street team members will help add a young voice to this important national discussion.

Think you don’t need to worry about healthcare?

Reality check.

16 million young Americans in the 18-34 year old age bracket lack health care insurance.

When you enter the job market, you are twice as likely as your parent’s generation to get a job that doesn’t provide you with health insurance.

AND, Americans are losing their health insurance every minute. Literally. By the time you finish reading this blog, five more people will lose their health care coverage. Last year, 800,000 people who lost their health coverage were young people between 18 and 34.

How is this happening to our generation?

Way too easily.If you don’t go to college after high school, you become ineligible for coverage from your parents’ family plans when you turn nineteen. If you do go to college but can only attend part-time, you are automatically disqualified from both family health plans and school-based health plans. As a young person in the job market, you are more likely to be employed in part time or temporary positions, which rarely offer health benefits. Remember, while approximately fifteen percent of the general population lacks health coverage, young people are twice as likely not to have health insurance, with approximately thirty percent of young people going without coverage.

So what can you do?

Take action on June 19 and take ownership of this issue. To find out what’s going on in your city visit the official website for Americans for Healthcare at www.bridgingthegapforhealthcare.org If there isn’t already an event happening in your city, download the event organizing guide and get busy protecting yourself. Need some Rock the Vote style to jump start your creative engines? Check out our weblog from the New Hampshire democratic primary when we worked with New Hampshire for Health Care (NHHC) to educate young voters about the issue New Hampshire weblog.

Candidates for political office need to know that young people are engaged, aware and actively assessing where candidates stand on the issue of affordable healthcare. Politicians protect themselves with affordable health care, so why shouldn’t you?