In the first two months of Obamacare, Texans purchased insurance. One of them was Misty Parker. This so-called 鈥測oung invincible鈥� has a premium of $38 a month.
When Misty Parker, 31, left her job and lost her health insurance in 2012, she started to search for a new position, with benefits. But like many millennials, she鈥檚 looking to make a difference 鈥� and it wasn鈥檛 easy to find a job that offered both revolution and health insurance.
鈥淏ecause the things I鈥檓 most passionate about don鈥檛 tend to make a lot of money,鈥� Parker says.
That鈥檚 where Obamcare comes in.
鈥淲hen I found out I qualified for through Obamacare,鈥� she says, 鈥淚 decided to just go for it.鈥�
Heart Of Gold, Plan Of Bronze
Misty Parker took a job with near Deep Ellum in Dallas. It鈥檚 a small company that doesn鈥檛 offer insurance, but because of her Obamacare subsidy, she can afford coverage.
Her bill is $38 a month 鈥� a subsidized rate available to someone like her making $12 an hour. It鈥檚 a bronze plan with a $6,000 deductible.
鈥淚f I had to pay that for some reason, it鈥檚 not going to destroy me,鈥� Parker says.
The Need For 鈥榊oung Invincibles鈥�
Many millenials won鈥檛 find plans cheaper than their cell phone bills 鈥� as . The federal government predicted about 鈥� but without subsidies, a 27-year-old North Texan would pay around $200 a month for the lowest cost bronze plan.
That can be a hard sell for young people:
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of interest in getting health insurance, but ,鈥� says Stacey Pogue. She鈥檚 with the in Austin.
Health policy experts like Pogue agree the success of Obamacare depends on getting the millennial generation to sign up.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what keeps premiums stable is this mix of healthy and sicker individuals all in the same insurance pool,鈥� she says.
Planning For The Unexpected
The Obama administration estimates over a third of the people on the exchanges to hold premiums down to reasonable levels.
We still don鈥檛 have official numbers of how many young invincibles signed up in Texas. But it鈥檚 obvious some are purchasing health care, and don鈥檛 consider themselves 鈥渋nvisible.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 pretty healthy,鈥� Misty Parker says, 鈥渂ut with riding my bike all the time (鈥�) especially in a city like Dallas that isn鈥檛 really bike friendly, I wanted to have coverage.鈥�
Parker says she also wants to be able to go in for checkups and not worry about how much it is going to cost.
She plans to make an appointment with her doctor in January.
