Young adult insurance coverage and out-of-pocket spending: Long-term patterns

Abstract

The Affordable Care Act appears to have improved health insurance coverage for young adults (ages 18-30). But data from twenty national surveys conducted between 1977 and 2013 paint a more complex picture, showing coverage rates lower in 2013 than they were thirty-six years earlier. Racial and ethnic disparities in coverage have declined recently, while out-of-pocket expenditures remain low for most young adults.