Short- and Long-Term Health Consequences of Gaps in Health Insurance Coverage Among Young Adults

In cross-sectional data, gaps in health insurance coverage are associated with worse health and lower utilization of preventive services. The authors investigated if these associations persisted 2-6 years after disruption of insurance coverage in a cohort of young adults. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, a longitudinal cohort study of participants who were ages 13-17 years in 1997, were analyzed. Annual interview data from 2007 through 2017 were included and analyzed in 2021. Health outcomes (general self-rated health, annual preventive care use, and work-related health limitations) in each year were regressed on insurance coverage status, classified as: continuous private coverage, continuous public coverage, gap in coverage, or year-round lack of coverage. In a series of models, insurance coverage status was lagged by 2, 4, or 6 years to capture long-term associations with health outcomes. The analytic sample included 8197 young adults contributing 49,580 observations. Contemporaneous gaps in coverage were associated with 17% lower odds of reporting better self-rated health (odds ratio [OR]: 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.78, 0.88;  < 0.001), compared to year-round private insurance. This association remained similar when the insurance covariate was lagged 2, 4, or 6 years (eg, 6-year lagged OR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.72, 0.93;  = 0.002). Results were similar for preventive care use and work-related health limitation. Among young adults, gaps in coverage are adversely associated with health status and health care utilization up to 6 years later. Policy efforts should target insurance continuity during this life course stage.