The University of Wisconsin-Madison hosted a statewide, multicampus forum Monday discussing insurance options for young people under the Affordable Care Act.
The event was broadcasted to 22 different college campuses across Wisconsin and attracted approximately 500 viewers around the state, representatives said at the forum.
Among the speakers were health services executives, insurance specialists and outreach officers. Additionally, Kathleen Falk, Region Five director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was available on conference call to discuss the importance of insurance for young people.
“I worry about the 200,000 young people in Wisconsin between the ages of 19 and 35 who have no insurance at all,” Falk said.
Caroline Gomez, a health care outreach specialist with Covering Kids and Families, said ACA strives to insure young adults to combat this statistic.
Current health care options for students include remaining insured under their parents’ plans until age 26, seeking coverage through BadgerCare Plus or Medicaid and buying individual insurance plans.
Director of Covering Kids and Families Molly Bandt said it is important young people are protected under the ACA because they are statistically more likely to visit the emergency room due to injury-related causes. She said having an insurance plan casts a safety net for these kind of situations.
Bandt encourages students to become more knowledgeable about health care options because they may not be as expensive as many imagine.
“This is a really dynamic period in health insurance nationally and in Wisconsin and I just think it’s really important for everybody to pay attention,” she said.
