In general, millennials really like the Affordable Care Act. But they might not sign up for health insurance under the plan. And that could be very bad for Obamacare.
Health care reform is meant to provide insurance to the 48 million Americans without coverage. Many of them are people with pre-existing conditions or serious illnesses. (Via CBS)
Others are on the opposite end of the spectrum. Very healthy 20-somethings — people who feel they don't need health insurance because they're rarely sick or injured. (Via CNN)
There's actually a name for this: the Superman Complex. It's a well-known psychological phenomenon — a feeling invincibility of among the young. (Via Paramount Pictures)
Here’s the thing: to cover the high costs of insuring people with pre-existing conditions, Obamacare needs a lot of people to sign up. TIME Magazine estimated at least 2.7 million 18-to-35-year-olds would be needed.
But when it was signed into law health reform also contained a caveat. The individual mandate allows people to opt out of buying insurance by paying a penalty fee. Many millennials could take that route. (Via The White House)
Ironically, although people between 18-29 could break the program, they actually approve of it more than any other age group, especially the 65 and up crowd, which has the lowest approval of Obamacare.
Critics think millennials will be turned off by the cost of insurance plans offered through Obamacare. A young RedState writer says people his age will take a pass.
But before opting out, healthy 20-somethings might want to consider the case of Matt Bitz, a 28-year-old South Dakotan profiled by Al Jazeera America who shelled out $15,000 in the last five years for treatments for a thyroid condition. He says: "A very good friend of mine was diagnosed with lupus when he was 25 … Things can happen."
See more at Newsy.com
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