Will they or won’t they?
That’s the often-posed question about young people and health care reform.
That is, will healthy young people sign up for health insurance in the marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or will they stay away in droves?
The Obama Administration and insurance companies are relying on enrollment by healthier young people to offset the cost of insuring older enrollees, who tend to use more health care.
Some experts worry about so-called “young invincible” syndrome.
Young people view themselves as invulnerable, they’ll never get sick – so they don’t need doctors, prescription drugs, hospitals – or insurance.
The worry is that young people will just opt to pay the penalty for not having insurance.
The initial penalty is the greater of $95 per year or 1% of income in 2014; it rises gradually from there, to the greater of $695 or 2.5% of income in 2016.