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Rachael Ibrahim traveled from St. Louis to New York this year without a vital piece of personal luggage. “Now that I moved to New York and don’t have a job, I cannot afford health insurance. Even the insurance through Hunter [College] is too much,” says Ibrahim, 24, a Hunter graduate student.
On top of loans and living expenses, students and young professionals receive another financial awakening—the expiration of their parents’ health insurance security blanket. Health care dependency status ends at age 23 for recent college graduates, and at age 19 for those not enrolled in higher education. The term “real world” can hit home when those first sniffles or throat tickles attack, and suddenly your antibiotic and visit fees cut into your rent.
Whether you are struggling in the workforce or in the classroom, finding affordable health insurance outside of employer-sponsored plans can be a daunting task. According to 2005 US Census figures, 46.6 million Americans—15 percent of the US population—had minimal-to-no health insurance coverage.
That uninsured bracket is highlighted by recent college graduates making transition into employment. Terry Mizrahi, professor of social work at Hunter College and a member of the Metro NY Health Care for All Campaign, says that most students don’t know when their dependent care expires or what to do when the time comes. When Metro NY director Mark Hannay asks Mizrahi’s students about their post-graduate insurance plans, “almost nobody raises their hand,” Mirahi says.
