WASHINGTON (AP) -- One provision of the nation's new health care law is credited with dramatically reducing the number of young adults who lack medical coverage.
Under the overhaul, children can remain on their parents' health insurance plans until they turn 26. And families have flocked to sign up young adults making the transition to work in a challenging economic environment.
An analysis the Obama administration is releasing today says the number of uninsured Americans ages 19-25 fell by 2.5 million since the new law took effect. That's 2 1/2 times as large as the drop indicated by previous government and private estimates earlier this year.
For those ages 26-35, the uninsured rate went up during the same period.
The health care law's main push to cover the uninsured doesn't come until 2014. But the provision covering young adults took effect last fall and most workplace health plans started carrying it out Jan. 1.
The law's future remains uncertain, with the Supreme Court scheduled to hear a constitutional challenge next year and Republican presidential candidates vowing to repeal it.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)