Mass. Offers Young Adults Health Plans

"If you're living paycheck-to-paycheck, you're paying off student loans, paying rent, you're in a different situation from someone who isn't already burdened by debt," he said.

The problem isn't unique to Massachusetts.

There are about 13.7 million people in the 19-to-29 age bracket in the U.S. without insurance, according to the New York City-based Commonwealth Fund.

It's the fastest and largest segment of the uninsured population, said Sara Collins, Commonwealth Fund assistant vice president lead author of "Rite of Passage? Why Young Adults Become Uninsured and How New Policies Can Help."

"This age group does tend to be healthier than the population at large, and per capita spending on health care for this age group is about $1,500 per year," she said.

The state has tried to educate the 19-to-26 age bracket with a series of newspaper and television ads and opinion pieces submitted to college newspapers. One print ad featured a photo of a young woman bungee jumping off a bridge. A TV ad has run during Red Sox games, hoping to reach roughly the same demographic.

Not everyone is convinced. Critics say anyone who exceeds the annual maximum benefits _ which can be as low as $50,000 _ may find themselves deep in debt.

"Many of these young adult plans aren't real insurance," said Andrew Cohen, of The Access Project, a Boston-based health care resource center affiliated with Brandeis University. "The real reason for insurance is to protect you from financial burden, and these plans don't do that."

___ Associated Press writer Steve LeBlanc contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

Massachusetts Health Connector: http://www.mahealthconnector.org

Health Care For All: http://www.hcfama.org