Rite of passage? Why young adults become uninsured and how new policies can help.

Young adults (ages 19 to 29) are one of the largest segments of the U.S.population without health insurance: 13.3 million lacked coverage in 2005. Young adults often lose coverage at age 19 or upon high school or college graduation. Nearly two of five college graduates and one-half of high school graduates who do not enroll in college will be uninsured for a time during the first year after graduation. Several states have passed laws to expand coverage of dependent young adults up to age 24 or 25 under parents' insurance policies. Three policy changes could further help uninsured young adults gain coverage and prevent others from losing it: extending eligibility for public insurance programs beyond age 18; extending dependents' eligibility for their parents' private coverage beyond age 18 or 19; and ensuring that colleges require full- and part-time students to have coverage, and that colleges offer coverage to them.