Protecting Confidential Health Services for Adolescents & Young Adults: Strategies & Considerations for Health Plans

Adolescents and young adults are likely to forgo health care when they feel they lack access to confidential care. As the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) expands access to private and public health insurance for adolescents and young adults, it may also raise challenges for ensuring confidential care is delivered to a newly insured segment of the adolescent and young adult population. This issue brief reviews the legal protections in place to ensure confidential care delivery for adolescents and young adults, the effect of privacy and confidentiality concerns on the use of health services, and health insurance system barriers and other challenges to delivering confidential care to this population. This brief also presents several strategies for health insurers to assure that their billing processes are protecting adolescents' access to confidential care.