The jobs crisis and rising healthcare costs have left millions of young Americans without healthcare coverage but the health reform law is turning things around, according to a new report from the liberal groups Demos and Young Invincibles.
As of 2009, the report found, 30.3 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 24 were uninsured, up from 27.9 percent a year earlier. For 25-to-34 year-olds, the rate increased from 24.9 percent to 28.3 percent.
The main culprit: Shrinking employer-sponsored healthcare coverage.
The report found that the proportion of 18-24 year-old workers covered through their employer dropped by 12.8 percent over the past 10 years and by 8.5 percent for 25-34 year-olds. That's left only 44 percent of those under 25 covered by employers in 2009 (down from 53 percent in 1999) and 56 percent for the older group (down from 68 percent).
