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Navigating through the world of Health
Insurance can be a difficult and challenging task for anyone. Even for those
that cover and report on health insurance as one NPR reporter noted they had to
google “cost-sharing reduction plan”.
If you
are in the 20-something or 30-something age group don’t feel bad. Most young
adults, and for that matter all adults generally have little experience
managing their own health care expenses. Most, are finding it very difficult to
sign up for Obamacare also known as the Affordable Care Act. A recent study study published
in the Journal of Adolescent Health noted young adults simply are having a
very difficult time getting Health Insurance Coverage through Healthcare.gov.
At the
University of Pennsylvania researchers wanted to see how well young adults
would do at navigating Healthcare.gov. They studied 30 young adults, college
educated from the ages of 19 to 30. The researchers placed them in front of
computers and observed them going through the online enrollment process for
Obamacare at Healthcare.gov. “We asked them to think out loud, so we could
really capture their experience”, says Charlene Wong, a pediatrician at the University
of Pennsylvania who lead the study. Wong followed up with the participants
after they completed the enrollment process and again after a month.
The
overwhelming response was “It feels a overwhelming because there are so many
different options”, says Wong.
Half of
the participants couldn’t define “deductible,” and three quarters couldn’t
explain “coinsurance.”
Many of
the participants that tried to enroll in Healthcare.gov were unaware of
subsidies for their Health Insurance and had no idea how much Health Insurance
plans generally cost. Many of them thought an affordable plan cost less then
$100 a month but the cheapest plan they could find in their area cost
187/month.
The study
involved college-educated, tech-savvy young people, Wong points out.
“Considering that, we were really surprised at just how much they didn’t know.”
Previous surveys have turned
up similar findings. The recent study is small, Wong says. But it takes a more
in-depth look at how young people feel about the enrollment process.
The
results suggest that the government as well as insurance companies need to do a
better job of educating people about the basics, Wong says. Making the process
easier for young people is crucial to the success of Obamacare, she points out,
since more healthy young Americans need to pay into the insurance system to
help cover the costs for older, sicker people.
JibeHealth.com
Co-Founder George Theodore went on to say “We launched JibeHealth.com to appeal
to all Americans including young adults. JibeHealth.com takes much of the guess work in
selecting Health Insurance in an easy and intuitive mobile experience” JibeHealth.com was founded by Pedro Colon,
CEO Shane McIntyre CTO and George Theodore CMO and has been a major market
disrupter in Health Insurance.
