Policymakers are finding one of the biggest hurdles to implementing the Affordable Healthcare Act to be enrolling healthy adults under the age of 30. This demographic makes up an uneven share of the total 50 million uninsured Americans. While many full-time working young adults are not eligible to receive benefits, only 50 percent of young workers who were offered coverage through their employer chose to enroll in their company?s plan. Young adults who opt out of enrolling in healthcare programs will face a penalty, which could be as little as $95 for the first year. Reluctance among young workers to buy insurance presents a threat to healthcare reform in that state-based exchanges could become expensive and unaffordable.
See "Obamacare challenge: getting young workers to buy insurance", Bertha Coombs, CNBC, June 25, 2013