President: ObamaCare plans a ‘good investment’ for young

President Obama on Monday touted a new report showing that nearly half of single, young adults could sign up for health insurance that cost $50 or less per month.

“Less than your cellphone bill, less than your cable bill,” Obama said in an interview with Fusion. “And about 70 percent can get if for less than $100 bucks a month.”

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report found that many young people have access to cheap coverage under the healthcare law because of low-cost plans, federal discounts to make policies more affordable and the Medicaid program.

Overall, according to the report, about 1.3 million uninsured young adults qualify for bronze plans on the exchanges that will cost $50 or less per month after tax credits. A total of 1.9 million might be able to pay $100 or less per month, while 1 million more could qualify for Medicaid, the report said.

In his interview at the White House, Obama said that young adults should get covered even if they felt like they didn’t need insurance. He said that he had broken his nose playing basketball during his late 20s or early 30s, despite a sense of “invincibility.”

“There were times when I had unexpected illnesses or accidents,” he said. “This is a good investment for young people and you know when you look at the number of who actually want health insurance, but are having trouble affording it, that fact we are making it affordable for them … [is] a big deal.”

The figures refer to people eligible for marketplaces run by or partially run by the federal government. HHS leads or co-leads the exchanges in 34 states.

The report boosts the administration’s argument that young, healthy people who are uninsured should sign up for health coverage under ObamaCare.

The marketplaces are open to people with pre-existing conditions, so they need millions of healthy applicants to balance risk and premium prices.

Supporters of the healthcare law are concerned that problems with its online enrollment system may discourage young people from applying for coverage. Critics have also played up price increases for some younger people on the exchanges.

Monday’s report sought to combat these anecdotes.

“The healthcare law is making health insurance more affordable for young adults,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a statement. “The healthcare law is delivering the quality, affordable coverage people are looking for.”