Sample letter to Congress
Dear Member,
I am pleased that healthcare reform is a top priority for President Obama and Congress. I strongly support extending affordable coverage to all Americans. However, as Congress works to finalize reform legislation, I am concerned about a proposal that would make it harder for young people to be able to afford insurance.
Today, almost all states allow young adults to be given age-related discounts on their health insurance premiums. The Senate HELP Committee and House Tri-Committee bills would change this by limiting the premium variations between younger adults and older adults to a ratio of 2:1. I urge you to support the more reasonable ratio of 5:1 proposed by the Senate Finance Committee in their “Expanding Health Care Coverage: Proposals to Provide Affordable Coverage to All Americans” document so that young people can afford insurance.
Over 40% of the uninsured are between the ages of 18 and 34 today. Furthermore, young people between the ages of 21 and 24 are twice as likely as people between 55 and 64 to be uninsured.
Age discounts are important to making sure young adults can find insurance with affordable premiums. Young people will be more likely to buy insurance if they think that their premiums generally are in line with the healthcare claims they expect to have. Furthermore, tight age rules will place an unfair burden on young adults who are just starting out in their careers. This is especially true given that younger individuals typically have less income and spend a greater percentage of their earnings on housing – leaving them with less to spend on health insurance. Only four states have age limits that are as strict as those proposed by the HELP Committee and House Tri-Committee bills. Tight age limits create real problems for young people. For example, after Maine imposed tight age rules for individual coverage in the 1990s, 90% of people under age 30 dropped their individual coverage because they could no longer afford it.
As you work to finalize health reform legislation, I ask that you support 5:1 age adjustments rather than overly restrictive 2:1 caps to ensure that young adults have more access to affordable health coverage after reform.
Sincerely,
[insert name]
Click below to find out who to contact in your area: