Youth urge health care reform
By Rotem Ben-Shachar
Sept. 24, 2009 10:23 p.m.
After graduating from New York University, Katie Loughmiller was jobless and uninsured.
One day while jogging she was hit by a car, resulting in a compound fracture and an infected gash near her ankle. She underwent two surgeries and had to remain in the hospital for a week to check on the infection.
Loughmiller ended up with more than $50,000 in medical bills and had no idea how she would pay for them. She said she was advised to do six weeks of physical therapy, but because she was scared to rack up even more medical bills, she only completed one week.
Luckily, Loughmiller was able to work it out with her mother’s car insurance company for coverage. But the incident nevertheless showed her how useful it is to have health insurance.
In July, six like-minded friends in Washington, D.C., who, like Loughmiller, believe in the importance of health insurance, formed Young Invincibles. The nonpartisan group is dedicated to engaging young people from ages 18 to 34 in health care reform.
The group has reached young people nationwide through their Web site, Facebook and word of mouth.
This week, a group of four young people founded a chapter of the group in the Los Angeles area, specifically at UCLA.
The main goals of Young Invincibles are universal coverage, affordability, choice of health care and access, said Jennifer Mishory, outreach coordinator of the group and former Daily Bruin reporter.
“The spread (of Young Invincibles’ message) is indicative of the current lack of coverage. The microphone is not currently being turned to our direction,” Mishory said.
Aaron Smith, a Georgetown University Law School student and co-founder of Young Invincibles, suffered an injury when, like Loughmiller, he was uninsured when looking for a job out of college.
He had a foot injury, and though his foot was fine, he had to pay several hundred dollars in medical bills for his visit to the emergency room and for X-rays.
“In college, if I was sick, it was easy because I had health insurance. It was after college that I understood how important health insurance is and how many people had very similar experiences,” Smith said.
For Smith, this made health care a personal issue.
The founders hope to ensure that young people are heard in the health care debate.
“We felt the need to do something because this issue affects so many people,” Smith said.
Young Invincibles has started a photo petition through its Web site and a similar Facebook application, titled Y.I. Want Change. The petition features a person’s photo and a letter asking Congress to pass legislation that will provide affordable health care for all Americans, Smith said.
“We’re trying to make it easy for young people to get their voices heard. Signing this photo petition is like making a call to Congress,” Smith said.
Mimi Newton, a 2007 UCLA alumna who is coordinating outreach efforts at different college campuses in the Los Angeles area, has begun handing out the photo petitions in Los Angeles, including at the most recent UCLA football game.
Young Invincibles is also collecting stories from young people who have had difficulty paying their medical bills.
The group is organizing an event for Oct. 13 in which young people will present these stories and the photo petition to congressmen in Washington, and local representatives across the country.
“We are making sure our voices are heard by people who should be hearing them,” Mishory said.
The group will also give policy recommendations to Congress, such as allowing young people to stay on their parent’s health care until age 26, to prevent gaps in coverage, Smith said.
Newton said she hopes the group will prompt young people to begin thinking about health care and how it will affect their future more seriously.
Newton has been employed since graduation but has switched jobs twice. During each transition period, she was without health insurance for a period of 90 days before her new employer offered her health insurance.
“In those times, I felt fearful to go to the doctor,” she said.
Smith said that this seems to be common among young people.
Many wait to go to the doctor if they have an injury because they are afraid of the medical bills they may receive.
“Many people think that young people are uninsured because we are so confident that we will never get hurt, but the reality is young people would buy health insurance if it was affordable,” Smith said. “We’re trying to show young people do care about health insurance.”
Loughmiller is a strong supporter of Young Invincibles.
“I got lucky, but that doesn’t mean things don’t need to change. I figured nothing would happen to me, but something did. Young people should not have to choose between risking their lives and paying health insurance,” she said.
