A broken hand nearly ended Clay Gish’s college education.

It’s not that he couldn’t continue to do the work — he couldn’t really afford the classes anymore.

Gish, junior in architecture, said at the time, he didn’t have health insurance and the $750 trip to the emergency room was too much to handle.

“When I first broke my hand, I didn’t even want to go to the emergency room,” Gish said. But, with the help of friends, he said, he was able to afford tuition this semester.

He said it was very difficult to be without health insurance.

Two weeks ago, he signed onto a health insurance plan, but said until now, he has been unable to afford the monthly payments. He is now covered through optional insurance at Kum & Go, where he works, and through his mother’s insurance.

College-aged adults are at the highest risk to be uninsured, according to the National Health Interview Survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The survey, which was released in September, showed 31.5 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds are uninsured in the United States.

When Amanda Halverson began looking for a job after graduation in May, health insurance was a big priority. She said she believes health insurance is something very important that a lot of college-aged people don’t think about. Throughout college, Halverson said, she had health insurance.

“I know a lot of people that don’t have it,” she said.

Halverson got a job with Innova Ideas and Services, which does offer health insurance.

“If you try to find health insurance individually, the premiums will be higher than at the group rate,” said Michelle Bohan, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate.

Bohan is on the Student Health Insurance Committee, which looks at health insurance rates and premiums.

Bohan said the purpose of the committee is to ensure students have the availability of a health plan suitable enough for the typical student’s budget.

“We try to keep premium’s rates down because if they go too high, students can’t afford it,” Bohan said.

Wanda Kellogg, human resource specialist in student insurance, said it seems more young students are becoming aware of the benefits of having health insurance.

Students get many benefits when they enroll in the ISU Student and Scholar Health Insurance Plan, Kellogg said.

“Students don’t have to be full time, which is required most often under a parent’s plan,” she said. “Another great benefit is students are covered even when they’re not taking classes.”

Jason Smith, junior in agricultural studies, said when he looks for a job, health insurance will be an important part of it. When Smith first went off his parents’ insurance, he was covered through his work.

But when Smith decided to go back to school, that coverage ended.

Smith said with rent and tuition to pay, health insurance was just too expensive.

He said he would have to be deathly sick to go to a doctor.

Mark Power, professor of finance, said he thinks there are reasons why so many 18- to-24-year-olds are not insured. Power said that because many are going to school, they are not usually employed.

If they are employed, it is usually with a small business that cannot afford health insurance or it is part time.

Also, when students reach a certain age — usually 25 — they can no longer be considered a dependent on their parents’ insurance.

He said another factor is what he called the “illusion of control.” He said it is a psychological phenomenon where a person thinks he or she will not get hurt to the point that he or she need insurance.

“They think it won’t happen to them,” he said.

Power said the reason Iowa has problems with health insurance coverage is because it is predominately small businesses.