As a young adult, the myriad of decisions you must make can be dizzying. “Should I go to college? What career should I pursue?” Where should I live? Should I get married? What about kids?” There are many details to consider in each of these decisions, but one component that underlies them all is your health. You can have a concrete plan in place, but one unexpected illness or injury can seriously derail it all. That is why health insurance for young adults is very important to have.

Things To Consider

A balanced way of eating and daily exercise will help you maintain optimal health, but there are a number of other contributing factors that need to be considered when determining young adult health insurance needs.

• Your Current Health: Do you have any conditions that require consistent medical attention like allergies or asthma? Are you overweight or underweight?
• Your Current Lifestyle: Do you lead a more sedentary life, keeping to your room and reading books, or are you more of an extreme sports person? Both lifestyles have health impacts to consider.

• Family History: Is there a family history of high blood pressure, heart disease, breast cancer, or any other conditions or diseases?

Benefits of Young Adult Health Insurance

Do not look at health insurance for young adults as yet another fee to be paid, but rather as an investment in your quality of life. Not only can young adult health insurance give you a safety net if something unfortunate should happen, it allows you the ability to be proactive with your own healthcare. Most plans allow for preventive care like cholesterol screenings and immunizations. As a young female, your plan may cover your annual pap & pelvic exam.

Health insurance also allows you to get the care you need when you need it, preventing more complicated illness. The last thing you want to do when starting a new career is miss a couple weeks of work because you let a common cold turn into pneumonia.

Insurance companies want you to stay as healthy as possible, so look carefully at your policy to find out what health-related expenses might be covered. This might include gym memberships or smoking cessation treatment. Not only will these help you look and feel great, it can save you money!

Insurance Availability

Determining what type of insurance is available, what you need, and what the requirements are, is where this topic can get complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. If you are eligible for insurance through a parent, you may stay on that insurance through age 26, regardless of student status, employment status, or marital status. You will want to compare this to getting your own insurance, but oftentimes being a dependent on a parent’s insurance is much less expensive.

Health insurance for young adults is also available through the Health Insurance Marketplace, implemented as a component of the Affordable Care Act. This is a multi-level insurance structure to provide different insurance for different needs. You can also look into short-term health insurance for young adults. This is particularly helpful if you are in a new career and about to go off of your parent’s insurance, but have not yet reached the open enrollment of your employer. Some colleges and universities offer young adult health insurance as well.

There are many possibilities for coverage, so give yourself some peace of mind by enrolling in young adult health insurance. Take care of your health now so you can enjoy a better quality of life in the future.