The next open enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will begin in just a few weeks, and stakeholders are pulling out all the stops to get young adults to sign up for health coverage.
Young adults aged 18 to 34 — also known as millennials — remain the highest uninsured age group in the United States. This fall, the White House held a Millennial Outreach and Engagement Summit specifically targeting this group. Panels presented a thoughtful combination of traditional public health representatives and new voices. My own position as a millennial offered a unique perspective for understanding and analyzing the strategies being used to target my peers.
Speakers shared strategies and offered a behind-the-scenes look at making iconic campaigns, like the “Got Insurance?” ads and the episode of “Between Two Ferns” that starred President Obama. During the event, Young Invincibles discussed its new campaign, #HealthyAdulting, which aims to provide critical resources to help young adults enroll in and understand the benefits of having coverage. Panelists specifically noted the importance of using innovative technology and tools, such as social media, to reach young adults.
White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough concluded the summit by weaving together many of the ideas reiterated throughout the day and introducing the Healthy Campus Challenge. The collaborative effort aims to boost health insurance enrollment on college campuses. By Dec. 15, all campuses participating in the challenge must act on a set of best practices for enrollment, including in-person events and stakeholder partnerships, that encourage students to recognize the importance of being insured.
The Healthy Campus Challenge presents an invaluable platform for colleges and universities to target my generation. While the social media campaigns are captivating, they can have limited influence. Young adults regularly use technology, but they also are heavily influenced by their peers. The best practices involved in the Healthy Campus Challenge present a combination approach: engaging young adults through the Internet, and also through each other. I believe the most successful open enrollment campaigns will be the ones that truly meet individuals where they are — both online and in-person.
Bringing diverse voices into a conversation, as was done at this summit, is the first step toward crafting thoughtful, collaborative enrollment efforts. As the open enrollment period approaches, many partners should continue to consider the messages from this meeting and the way in which they can create multidimensional campaigns to inspire young adults to get coverage.
