Here's a great story from the August 21 Wall Street Journal covering what brokers know already: Health insurance plans are now being tailored to young adults, the "fastest-growing population of uninsured Americans." The article identifies something that the Vimo Research Group noticed when we put together our Atlas of the nation's high-deductible health plans: HDHPs don't thrive in guaranteed issue states. "Insurers are expanding their insurance offerings for individuals in part because of the dwindling share of employers — especially smaller companies — offering health benefits in recent years. Though the new plans could meet some of the needs of a number of young and older people, they won't necessarily reach those among the roughly 45 million uninsured Americans most in need of health coverage. That's because the new plans currently are available mainly in states where looser regulations allow insurers greater leeway to cull prospective policyholders, and thus choose the healthiest people as customers."
