Another enrollment period is under way for ObamaCare, and one question for the struggling health insurance law is whether Millennials will sign up for a plan that needs them to survive.

Younger, healthier people are needed to help offset the cost of older, less-healthy enrollees. But many Millennials are turning it down, complaining that it’s too expensive.

Others, including Emily Jashinsky of Young America’s Foundation (YAF), don’t like the federal government being so heavily involved.

“I’ve heard from young people who have looked into enrolling in the plans and it’s been thousands of dollars per year,” Jashinsky adds. “It’s been a financial burden that they’re not equipped to shoulder and that’s something that happened after the law was passed.”

Jashinsky

In related news, on LifeZette.com, contributor Jennifer Fallon points to a study out of Harvard that found 57 percent of Millennials disapprove of the Affordable Care Act.

As reported on OneNewsNow, the White House says many young people may qualify for a taxpayer-subsidized plan that amounts to $75 a month or less – supposedly cheaper than their cellphone bill.

Still, critics say that’s not saying much about the quality of the coverage, the deductible and other out-of-pocket expenses.

Meanwhile, supporters of the law believe the tax penalty for not having health insurance will lead to more young people enrolling.

As of Tuesday, November 1, Healthcare.gov did not have the 2017 amounts available. However, the penalty for not having health insurance in 2016 is $695 per person or 2.5 percent of your household income, whichever is greater.

According to Jashinsky, young people may once again forgo insurance and pay the tax penalty.

“In certain cases, it does make more sense to pay the penalty,” she says.
If you ask Twila Brase, president of Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom, we should not be surprised by this development.

“Millennials are savvy consumers in other areas of life,” says Brase.