This is part of our series on the decisions young adults are making as they manage their health care.

When Ashley Bearden graduated Nashville’s Belmont University last year, she had a pretty sweet offer awaiting her: a full-time post with a great salary at Polly Ryerson PR, the New York-based public relations company with which she had interned while in school.

For an Alabama native looking to jumpstart her career, saying yes was a no-brainer. The catch? The small company couldn’t afford a group plan for employees, leaving Bearden on her own.

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