Mental-health coverage and using digital devices to communicate with doctors' offices are among the health-care priorities of Generation Z. Providers are urged to make note of the needs of patients born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s. Industry researchers say like a lot of other age groups, Gen Z embraces telemedicine. But as these individuals begin to navigate adulthood, they also value apps that make it easier to schedule appointments, manage conditions and look up data.

Richelle Andrae, government relations specialist with the Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association, said more importantly, this generation wants to feel empowered when receiving care.

"I don't think a Gen Z individual is really likely to just be directed to what to do with their health care," she said. "They need that buy-in and options so that they can have a voice in the process of providing care."

She said Gen Z deserves praise for normalizing conversations regarding behavioral health amid nationwide calls to expand mental-health care and insurance plans to cover those expenses. According to Y-Pulse data, 71% of consumers in this age group say they value brands that incorporate mental health as part of their marketing.

Dr. Donald Tavakoli, national medical director for behavioral health with United Healthcare, said Z is just starting to enter the workforce. Because they report higher rates of depression, eating disorders and even suicidal behaviors, he said it is important they understand terms such as deductibles, co-insurance and out-of-pocket when signing up for plans.

"They have significant rates of mental illness, so we think it's really important that they first have their health insurance lingo down - really understanding the common terms of how to navigate health insurance," he said.

Industry experts say because they prioritize their mental health, these individuals are likely to seek out employers who offer packages with quality behavioral health coverage.

Health equity is another priority for Gen Z. Andrae said her organization, which is the member association for community health centers around Wisconsin, is trying to reduce access barriers for underserved populations, including young adults and adolescents.

"They may not have a parent or a family member or a guardian who can take them to a clinic after work," Andrae said. Maybe that parent or guardian is working multiple jobs."

As the year comes to an end, one event aims to help high schoolers in Arizona learn how to better manage their money. The "Bite of Reality" fairs across the West engage high schoolers by assigning them a persona and students then having to create a budget accordingly.

Sarae Bay, assistant vice president and manager director with the GoWest Foundation, said her organization works with credit unions in Arizona and help sponsor the fairs. She said the exercise is an opportunity for young people to "experiment and make mistakes with finances in a realistic but safe environment."

"They complete a 90 minute budgeting exercise, and it really helps give students a realistic look at money management by updating their budgets in real time to see the true impact of their everyday as well as planned purchases and expenses," she said.

Bay added participants' fictional persona will include an occupation, salary, credit score, possible spouse and child and debt among various other considerations. They then visit "merchants" to purchase items such as housing, groceries, transportation and child care. When they find themselves in a bind, local credit unions are then able to offer guidance.

More than 90 "Bite of Reality" fairs have reached 9,000 students across the West, including Arizona. Bay added that students have left the real-life simulation feeling more prepared to make better financial decisions, and says adds that while all young people's situations are different, no one can go wrong with learning how to better manage their money.

"So the more practice they have in a safe environment, where they aren't going to have a catastrophic mistake that is detrimental to their credit which would impact their ability to find an apartment to live in, or get a small-business loan or a graduate-school loan down the line, it is really, really critical," she continued.

Bay said having been a financial educator and counselor for many years, she knows many people "cringe" at the thought of making a budget and says a simulation exercise like "Bite of Reality" has made doing so less of a burden and more interactive, hopefully leaving participants with important lifelong skills.


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First-generation college students face a host of expectations and challenges - and that's why New Mexico State University will spotlight their accomplishments this month. First-gen students account for about one-third of the NMSU student population.

Rosa De La Torre-Burmeister, advising technology assistant director, says parents, siblings and other family members of first-generation students often are overwhelmed with pride.

"From the siblings, it's nothing but excitement and they want to follow," she explained. "They want to be like their brother or sister. They're celebrated as, I would call them, a 'hero.'"

She added many students new to the university system say they're motivated by watching their own parents achieve dreams after moving to the U.S. without financial resources, a firm grasp on English or the opportunity to pursue higher education.

She said first-generation students face pressures at home and school. They may have trouble relating to peers from families who've attended college for decades, learning the unspoken cultural norms and navigating university life. This is the fifth year NMSU will honor those efforts which Torre-Burmeister feels is important, during a time when good news is often overshadowed.

"There's so many successes that we don't celebrate - there are just so many other negative issues out there that we don't celebrate these moments for these students - these individuals who have worked so hard to earn this certification," she continued.

Torre-Burmeister is a first-generation student, who added she still finds it hard to believe she went from picking onions and tomatoes to graduating from Doña Ana Community College and receiving advanced degrees from Penn University and NMSU.

About 300 young adults leaving foster care in California will now receive a monthly check to help them make ends meet, part of the state's first guaranteed income program.

Some 150 people in Ventura will receive $1,000 a month and another 150 in San Francisco will receive $1,200 dollars a month, with no strings attached.

Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San Jose, who wrote the bill to launch the program, said "paternalistic" programs restricting the aid to cover only food or rent have not worked in the past.

"People in poverty need to be empowered, just like the rest of us, to make their own decisions," Cortese contended. "It really should be up to them to decide whether they need food, a warm coat, or rent. These aren't decisions that the state should be making, these are decisions that individuals should be making."

Opponents worry people receiving unrestricted income could waste it on luxuries, but post-analysis of pilot programs in Stockton and Santa Clara County disprove the concern. While the effort is the first statewide universal basic income program, there are also about 200 local programs now operating across California.

Cortese argued such programs reduce homelessness and end up saving the state money in the long run.

"We have significant economic disparity issues in this state," Cortese pointed out. "This gets the kind of outcomes that we're looking for in terms of giving people a leg up and keeping them out of the systems that cost us a lot of money; incarceration, like mental health and so forth."

Cortese hopes to secure funding next year for a similar proposal, called the California Success, Opportunity, and Academic Resilience or "SOAR" program, which would give a five-month stipend to the 15,000 homeless children who exit California high schools each year.


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