Throughout college, I have received life-changing services like therapy and psychiatry thanks to my parents’ insurance and their understanding of the importance of healthcare. However, many of my friends are unable to access the health services they need, like contraceptive care and counseling. Although they are all insured, they cannot utilize their insurance due to fear of what their parents will say when they receive a billing statement, and this is not an uncommon experience. 

Young adults on their parents’ insurance are stuck in a loophole: they can receive insured health services on their parents' plans, but it comes at the expense of being questioned when the billing statement comes up. It is fair enough that parents’ question charges made to their insurance, but this situation also leaves young adults lost and hopeless until they can afford their own insurance or figure out another way to receive health services secretly. To worsen the problem, young adults are most frequently in need of services for mental health, STDs, and contraception, which often carry stigmas. These resources may have certain billing giveaways like the name of the company providing the service or a repeatedly billed service, which often lead to parental interrogation. 

Therefore, I am calling upon Illinois Representative Lauren Underwood, a healthcare advocate and a former advisor to the Department of Human Health Services, to help us initiate a policy change. Help us make changes that will allow an increase in the confidentiality of young American healthcare patients, while also ensuring better utilization of healthcare resources, and, in return, improvements in health. Sign this petition to get the attention of Representative Underwood and to begin the work of fighting for discreet billing options for young adults covered by parental insurance.