Astonishing Number of Uninsured Young Adults

A new report out by Families USA, a non-partisan non-profit dedicated to high quality, affordable health care for every American, shows that an astonishing number of Americans have spent part of the last two years without health insurance. There were 81.8 million people under 65 years of age who were uninsured at some point over the past two years (2002-2003). That's one in every three Americans under 65. For young adults the numbers are astounding. Among people 18-24 years of age 50.3% were uninsured at some point within the two-year period. An obvious reason for this is that young adults are employ in entry-level jobs that pay relatively low wages and offer few benefits.