HHS: 3 million young adults gained coverage under healthcare law

More than 3 million young adults have been able to stay on their parents' insurance plans because of President Obama's healthcare law, the Health and Human Services Department said Tuesday.

The healthcare law allows children to stay on their parents' plans through age 26. HHS touted that popular benefit Tuesday amid deep uncertainty about the fate of the health law and questions about which parts Republicans would try to preserve.

The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling by the end of next week that could strike down all or part of the law. Republicans have vowed to repeal the entire law if the court only strikes down part of it, but they're divided over which parts to replace.

HHS and the White House consistently highlight popular parts of the healthcare law that are already in effect, including the policy allowing young people to stay on their parents' plans.

Roughly 3.1 million people between 19 and 25 now have insurance because of the Affordable Care Act, HHS said Tuesday. About 75 percent of that age group is insured, up from 64 percent before the under-26 provision took effect.

Many Republicans list the under-26 provision as one piece of the ACA they would likely reinstate.

Adding more young people to the insurance pool is popular in part because it helps lower premiums for everyone. Young people often go without insurance because they're healthy and don't think they will need it. Three large insurance companies said last week they would voluntarily keep covering dependents through age 26 if the federal requirement is struck down.

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