Health advocates are pushing for the Maryland General Assembly to renew the state’s health insurance Young Adult Subsidy pilot program in hopes of continuing to get people aged 18-37 to sign up for healthcare.

Maryland instituted the pilot program in 2022, which gives young adults a discount on their health insurance premiums if they make up to 400% of the federal poverty level.

However, the program is set to expire at the end of the year.

Jana Varwig, a health activist and parent of a young adult says allowing the policy to sunset would be devastating.

“Things do happen to young adults,” Varwig said. “You can get seriously ill. You do need to have medical care and easy access to it, and health insurance is a part of that.”

The thought process behind the program is the more people who sign up for health insurance, the lower the costs will be for everyone since more people will be paying into the program.

Young people, because they tend to be healthier, often go without healthcare. The discount is an incentive to get those people on the insurance rolls.

According the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, young people saved an average $38 a month on healthcare premiums.

The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, which oversees the state’s health insurance marketplace, says it’s seen increases in young adult participation.

Young adult enrollment increased by 27% from 2023 to 2024. That increase can’t be directly attributed to the program, since it coincided with other benefits like enhanced federal subsidies and Medicaid redeterminations.

However, Vincent DeMarco, president of Maryland Healthcare for All! says the program does have an impact.

“The exchange announced that they had over almost 240,000 people in the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, the highest number ever,” he said. “They highlighted that a huge proportion of that was young people for the first time. More than ever before, and I think that's almost surely due in large part to the young adult subsidy program.”

The program costs about $20 million for the state, however that money comes from a special assessment on insurance premiums, not from the regular budget.

If the General Assembly passes the bill to extend the program it will continue until 2028.