Protecting Financial Access to Health Care for Adolescents and Young Adults: Position Paper of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine.

Access to health care is a human right and is critical for promoting and maintaining the well-being and health of adolescents and young adults (AYAs). Health insurance or other financial support for low-income and otherwise vulnerable AYAs enables them to exercise this human right and access the health care that is essential for advancing their health and well-being. In addition, health professionals and systems require public insurance to offer care to all AYAs. For health professionals and facilities that care for large portions of low-income AYAs, cuts to publicly funded insurance could threaten their ability to function at their current level or cause them to close. The Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine adopts the following positions: (1) health care is a fundamental human right that must be protected for all AYAs to promote their health and well-being; (2) ensuring access to health care for AYAs requires public funding for the full range of health services necessary to meet the needs of all AYAs; (3) public funding of health care for low-income AYAs should include public health insurance coverage, financial support for private health insurance, and direct funding of essential AYA health services; and (4) the ability of health care professionals and facilities to provide and sustain high-quality comprehensive health care for AYAs depends on the continued availability and sufficiency of public funding.