Is there even a point to buying health insurance if you’re young and healthy? After all, you don’t have to go to the doctor that often.

The short answer: Yes! In fact, we have four good reasons why young adults still need to have health insurance for their physical and financial wellbeing.

1. Stuff happens … and it can get expensive.

Skipping out on health insurance might seem like you’re saving money in the short term, especially when you’re young, healthy, and rarely go to the doctor. Unfortunately, unexpected illnesses and accidents do happen, and they’re much more expensive when you’re uninsured. Something like a broken leg costs an average of $7,500 without insurance. A three-day hospital stay? We’re talking as much as $30,000.  

There’s also a misconception that health insurance is always expensive. But this isn’t always the case. In fact, during the last Open Enrollment for health insurance in 2024, the average monthly premium was just $56 with the help of government subsidies, also called tax credits (more on those in a moment).

Paying a low monthly premium for a health plan that helps you avoid paying for unexpected health care out of pocket is actually a bargain — especially now that health plans are so affordable.

And here’s more good news: While health insurance requires you to pay some amount upfront in the form of your monthly premium, it also caps the amount you will spend in a year on health care. Hospitalization coverage, for example, is one of the essential health benefits that marketplace plans are legally required to cover. This means that whether or not you use it frequently, your health insurance helps protect you from bankruptcy in the event of an emergency.

2. All plans come with free services that keep you healthy.

Feeling healthy? Let’s keep it that way! Certain types of health services — such as routine physicals, immunizations, and cancer screenings — can catch medical conditions before they become serious, which helps keep you healthy as you get older. This is called preventive care.

Every health plan comes with certain free preventive care services (you won’t even have to pay a copay). Even less-expensive plans get all the same preventive services as fancier plans, which means you can buy the cheapest health insurance available and still get access to no-cost health care, including:

• Annual physicals

• Annual well-woman visits, including pap smears

• Vaccines

• Blood pressure and cholesterol screenings

3. You’ll likely qualify for lower prices.

Depending on factors like your annual income, you could qualify for those tax credits we mentioned above. This is money the government puts towards your monthly premiums or your health care costs to lower the amount you have to pay. In 2024, a whopping 92 percent of people qualified for tax credits, and 44 percent of people — that’s about 9.4 million — got a plan for $10/month or less.

4. Simple, more affordable plan options exist.

When shopping for health insurance, you’ll notice that different plans are categorized by different metal tiers: bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. Each metal tier increases in price and level of coverage.

Platinum plans are the most expensive, but also pay the largest portion of your medical bills. If you don’t need health care often, opt for a less expensive bronze plan. Bronze plans generally have higher deductibles, which means if you do need health care, you’ll have to pay more out of pocket. However, these plans cap your annual medical costs, protecting you during medical emergencies without requiring large monthly payments. Plus, bronze plans fully cover preventive care, so you can still get your annual checkup (and more) at no cost.

If you’re younger than 30 and don’t expect to need much health care, you can also consider a catastrophic plan. Don’t let the name scare you — this type of health insurance is simply a less-expensive option for younger people. In exchange for low monthly premiums, catastrophic plans have very high deductibles, which means their primary purpose is to protect you financially in a medical emergency. Catastrophic plans are unique in that they not only cover preventive care, but also three primary care visits during the year.

How to shop for a plan

Finding the right coverage, even if you have minimal medical needs, is simple when you use Stride. Unlike government sites, Stride recommends the best plans for your unique needs and preferences, and automatically checks to see if you qualify for tax credits that lower the cost of coverage so you always get the best price possible. Enter your ZIP code to see your recommendations in less than five minutes.