Young and Invincible?

Almost two-thirds of America's young people voted for Barack Obama.

Now, he's trying to tap into that support to help pass health reform, reports CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier. He's telling the under-30 generation they may not know it, but health insurance is something they need.

"I know this isn't always an issue that you have at the top of your mind," Mr. Obama said at the University of Maryland. "You think you're invulnerable."

But they are vulnerable. One in six young adults - those from age 19 to 29 - have chronic conditions such as asthma or cancer. One quarter are obese, and one in six end up in the emergency room from injury - the highest rate among any age group in the country.

Despite that, nearly a third of young Americans, around 10 million people, don't have coverage. And 28 percent of young adults who have jobs are uninsured. That makes them the most uninsured age group in the country.

"They are twice as likely to be unemployed, they are much more likely to be under the poverty line and they are struggling under debt," said Heather Smith, with Rock the Vote.

Yet everyone would be required to have coverage or pay a penalty. Those who make less than $14,000 a year would be exempt, but if you make more than that, the cheapest plan would cost $1,200 a year.

"For young healthier adults with higher income, they are going to be forced to pay more than they are currently paying," said Genevieve Kenney, a senior fellow and health economist with the Urban Institute.

To ease the transition, President Obama says under his plan, young people could say on their parents' insurance until age 26.

Krisja Hendricks, 28, could have used that when she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in college. At the time, she was covered under her father's plan.

"Once I graduated I was kicked off and wasn't offered anything else," Hendricks said. "About eight months later I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and I tried to apply for a lot of different insurance and no one would even accept me."

The insurance she was eventually able to get five years later still doesn't cover tests she needs.

"I thought this can't be happening to me I'm so young," Hendricks said. "But it can obviously."

That's the message from Rock the Vote, which mobilized so many young Americans during the campaign.

It's hard to tell whether the "young invincibles," as these young people are called, will believe.