Many college students forego health insurance despite risks

According to a 2004 Common Wealth Fund report, nearly 14 million young adults between the ages of 19-29 lacked health insurance.

This was an increase of 2.5 million since 2000, making young adults "one of the largest and fastest growing segments" without health insurance in the nation.

One week before her health insurance policy became effective, Nina Nyman, 27, came down with strep throat. She rushed herself to the nearest emergency room.

"They took my blood pressure and my temperature. I sat in a room for about 45 minutes alone. They gave me one Vicodin, which I threw up, a tablespoon with Codeine and gave me a prescription, which cost me $50," said Nyman, adding, "I'm guessing it's going to be about $500."

Nyman has been without health insurance for four years. She hasn't seen a doctor or a dentist in those four years, relying instead on "self-diagnosis." Recently, she started a new job as a pharmacy technician at Walgreens. It isn't her dream job, but she keeps the job for the health insurance.

"If I wasn't working there, I would never be able to afford health insurance," said Nyman, "It's still $60 a month, but it's better than if I were to go outside of work. Privately, it would probably be close to $200 if not a little more."

The inconsistency of coverage puts young adults at risk for future poor health since most without health insurance tend to skip needed medical tests or treatments, regular check-up, and sometimes even fail to fill prescriptions. However, many would rather continue to take their chances than pay high insurance premiums.

In 2006, the Journal of Adolescent Health reported "over 96 percent of 18-24-year-olds to be in excellent, very good, or good health." The study also sighted that "unintentional injury" was the leading cause of mortality for young adults, and "for every fatal motor vehicle accident between the ages of 21-24, 82 are non-fatal."

"It's nice to say that you're never going to have a problem," said financial planning expert Errold F. Moody. "But if you get into an accident, you're going to be running through thousands, or hundreds of thousands of dollars, easily."

Ammie Leeker, bartender and part-time horse-caretaker at Stony Mountain Ranch, has been without health insurance since she was dropped from her parent's policy 12 years ago at age 18. Six months ago, Leeker fell off her horse and broke her arm. Her bill, after an emergency room visit, was over $3,000. Three months earlier, a bite from an Arizona Recluse (a poisonous spider) at her horse ranch had also landed her in the emergency room. That bill totaled $2,000.

"I still haven't paid," said Leeker, "It's probably going to go to collections here soon if I don't start making payments."

Unlike some people who don't carry insurance due to costs, Leeker admits that hers is because it isn't a priority.

"I could probably afford it, being a bartender," Leeker said. " I just really didn't think about it being a necessity."

"If you do not pay and let's say you have the resources to do so, well, they're just going to come after you. Then, what are you going to do, file bankruptcy?" said Moody, adding, "which is not as easy as it was before."

She fears the day she becomes ill or has an accident, however.

"I think it's probably going to turn into a spiral down mess, tumble down," Leeker said. "It's all going to hit me in the a** and it's going to suck."

Moody voiced a warning for the future of the uninsured.

"You can be in the best physical condition that you may wish to be, but that doesn't mean it's going to stop a lot of these problems from happening, because it won't," said Moody. "It's better than not being active at all, obviously, but stuff happens. Maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones, but if life throws you a curve, any type of an accident, falling off a bicycle, anything can happen, and that can cause you a tremendous amount of unforeseen problems."

Fortunately these days many colleges offer student health insurance at reasonable prices. Maricopa County Community College District offers an "injury and sickness" plan through Renaissance Agencies available to any student taking at least three credit hours. A detailed brochure with policy information can be found at http://www.renaissance-inc.com.