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Licensed social worker shares resources for young people to gain healthcare independence
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BATON ROUGE - Graduation marks a major milestone for teens, but it also signals the start of a new responsibility many are not ready for: managing their own healthcare.
A new survey found that two-thirds of youth say they would have benefited from more preparation before moving off their parents' insurance. Nearly 9 in 10 healthcare providers surveyed say the system does not adequately prepare young people to manage their care.
Susan Shanske, director of Transitional Care Support with the BRIDGES Adult Transition Program, spoke with 2une In's April Davis about what this shift looks like for teens and families.
Shanske, a licensed clinical social worker who has worked in the field for more than 25 years, said the transition to adult healthcare happens at the same time teens are taking on a lot of other responsibilities.
"Teens are graduating school, starting work, all sorts of things when they turn 18, that's a big deal," Shanske said. "They can vote, they're gonna deal with their financial pieces on their own potentially."
"Healthcare is a major place as well where decision making when you turn 18 is around who's going to consent to different procedures and who's going to get information," she added. "So there are lots of things happening for these teens all at once and healthcare is one aspect among many that we're asking them to navigate."
When it comes to insurance, Shanske said the situation varies by state and community. She noted that if a parent has a family plan through an employer, children can generally stay on that coverage until age 26.
She said young people need to understand their specific family situation, including whether they can stay on a parent's plan, whether their parents have insurance at all or whether a disability makes them eligible for federal or state insurance.
Her advice for teens taking ownership of their healthcare was straightforward.
"Be educated, practice a lot of the skills," Shanske said. "Don't show up with sort of no knowledge of what's happened before."
"Practice making your own appointments, speaking up in appointments, giving over your own health history, really paying attention to your symptoms in your body, whether you have a chronic condition or you've generally been healthy," she said. "You're going to want to practice those skills that are involved in accessing healthcare."
Shanske pointed to two resources for teens and families looking for guidance: the Got Transition national resource center and the habit-building website called Healthcare Shift.
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