Sociodemographic and health characteristics of young adults who are uninsured, publicly insured, and privately insured were examined using the 1984 National Health Interview Survey. The results indicated that 26% of 19 to 24-year-old persons had no health insurance protection, 65% were privately insured, 7% were publicly insured, and 1% had both private and public coverage. Young adults at greatest risk for being uninsured were male, Hispanic and black, poor and near-poor, unemployed, high school dropouts, living with others, and residing in the South and West. All young adults predictably lose or change health insurance as they move from dependence to independence. It was concluded that greater use of new and existing transitional insurance options should be offered as well as targeted educational and communication strategies to assure that all young persons enter adulthood with some basic insurance protection.