The number of uninsured U.S. adults ages 19 to 29 increased from 11.2 million in 2000 to 13.4 million people in 2003, making young adults the fastest-growing group without health care coverage, according to a study by the Commonwealth Fund, Bloomberg News/Arizona Daily Star reports. The study is based on information from three federal government surveys and one by the Commonwealth Fund (Bloomberg News/Arizona Daily Star, 5/4). According to the study, two in five young adults go without health insurance at some point in their first year after graduating college, the Washington Post reports. The report notes that more than 30% of young adults lack health insurance, about twice the rate among people ages 30 to 65 (Washington Post, 5/4). A growing number of young people are taking jobs without health benefits and are too old to qualify for their parents' insurance, the study says. According to the study, "If young adults lose their coverage at age 19 or upon graduation from college, their ties with primary-care physicians are severed at precisely the time they should be forming stronger links to the health care system and taking responsibility for their own care." Researchers recommend that lawmakers implement policy changes that would require universities to offer coverage to students and would expand SCHIP programs to cover people until age 23. Without such policy changes, about two-thirds of people ages 19 to 23 will likely go without insurance at some time during the next four years, the study says (Bloomberg News/Arizona Daily Star, 5/4).

The study is available online. Note: You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the report.