Letters: ACA enabled high school grad to stay on parents’ plan for college

While in the midst of a global public health crisis, it has become clear to me that access to affordable health care is more important than ever. The Affordable Care Act allows young adults to remain on their parent’s insurance plans until they are 26.

Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA), I would have had to find health insurance at age 18, right out of high school. The ACA allowed me to go to college without having to worry about finding health insurance; I get to stay on my parents’ plan.

In Montana, roughly 7,000 young adults have coverage because the ACA allows us to stay on our parents’ plans until we have the chance to find a job that allows us to have our own insurance. Without the ACA, I do not know what I would have done as an 18-year-old college student that had to pay for health insurance.

I am thankful that I had the opportunity to remain covered under my parents’ plan. All young people deserve this opportunity, especially now that COVID-19 threatens public health nationwide. Without the ACA, thousands of college-aged Montanans would run the risk of contracting COVID-19 without insurance.

Current attacks on the ACA, including the lawsuit in the Supreme Court, are unacceptable. Affordable healthcare is critical to the health of Montana’s young people.

Hope Smelser, Power