Staff Editorial: Health Care Bill Lifts Weight off Young Adults

Part of the new health care bill allows young people whose jobs don’t provide health coverage to remain on their parents’ health insurance through age 26. For college students, that means no more wondering about what to do post-graduation. With the job market low, finding jobs that provide benefits is harder and harder.

Thanks to the new legislation, recent graduates have one less thing to worry about as they face the terror of the real world. The extension only covers unmarried dependents, and does not extend to any children the dependent may have. Also, the legislation would not cover those 26 or younger with jobs that provide health benefits.

Prior to the legislation, many recent graduates were forced to go without any coverage until they could find long-term employment. Before the economy took a negative turn, that wasn’t a big problem since a large number of graduates found work shortly after leaving school.

With unemployment still high despite the economy beginning to rebound, many graduates are going unemployed for months after graduation. For those who do find work, the chances of getting a job with benefits are slim. Whether or not you agree with the Health Care Reform bill, the assurance of having some kind of health coverage for your first few years out of college is reassuring.

While there are some health plans available to those whose employers do not provide coverage, they can be expensive for young people with limited incomes. Additionally, those plans may not fully cover expensive surgeries or medicines.

Not only does the bill make life easier for recent graduates, it enables those who choose not to attend college to spend more time looking for work and making ends meet. People should not have to worry about whether or not they have access to health care. As new graduates enter the workforce, lifting the weight of health care from their shoulders is an enormous help.