For a president sufficiently self-satisfied to proclaim his own record as the fourth best of any president in American history on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Barack Obama is surprisingly quiet about his cornerstone legislative achievement: healthcare reform.

Then again, his silence is understandable considering that after two years, approval for Obamacare still sits below 38 percent, and a clear majority of all Americans support repeal.

Despite the national consensus, Obamacare still fairs relatively well among younger voters, who still adore the president for the most part.

But in spite of their support, young Americans will undoubtedly be most harmed by Obamacare, which forces them to shoulder the burden of the entire health system.

The law doubles down on state laws that shift costs to young adults, nationalizing these regulations and then forcing the young to purchase inflated insurance.

Consider that younger Americans earn less and are lower health risks than older Americans. Thus, they are inclined to buy basic, inexpensive health insurance plans.

The problem is that existing state government regulations make cheap, basic forms of insurance illegal in several ways.

First, regulations require all insurance plans to cover a minimum of procedures, regardless of whether the patient wants or needs them. The average state mandates all plans cover at least 42 different procedures, giving the consumer no freedom to choose fewer.

These regulations can add significantly to health insurance costs. A study of the California market found that mandated coverage of in vitro fertilization adds 3 to 5 percent to the cost of everyone’s health insurance and coverage of mental health treatment adds 5 to 10 percent. By the time you reach 42 different coverage mandates, premiums can spiral out of control.

Second, price controls make it illegal for younger, healthier Americans to pay significantly lower premiums because of their lower health risks. These “community rating” laws vary in degree of severity by state, but all of them make it illegal for insurers to charge patients much less for making better lifestyle choices and having lower risk profiles. Additionally, “guarantee issue” requires insurers to accept all patients regardless of risk.

The consequences of these price controls are seen across states, as illustrated in a 2009 study by the Cato Institute.

In California, where there is no community rating, the median monthly premium for a 25-year-old male who doesn’t smoke was $118, whereas the same premium for a 55-year-male smoker was $404.

But in New York, where there are strict community rating rules, a 25-year-old male non-smoker and a 55-year-old male smoker are charged the exact same – about $411 per month.

Finally, Americans are banned from buying insurance across state lines in order to protect big-government politicians in the states that ruined their health insurance market. Thus a young person in Rhode Island, which mandates coverage of at least 70 different procedures, does not have the freedom to buy health insurance from Idaho, which requires just 17.

Because of all these big government policies, it should be no surprise that many young people give up on the insurance market completely.

So what does Obamacare do about this unfairness in health insurance regulations?

It leaves the bias against individually purchased insurance in place. It also keeps the ban on purchasing across state lines, lest consumers have the freedom to make healthcare decisions for themselves.

On top of that, Obamacare takes all the state-level coverage mandates and price controls (community rating and guarantee issue) and nationalizes them so that the young and healthy must be charged similar prices to everyone else.

Finally, to keep younger and healthier Americans from opting out of the biased system, Obamacare includes a mandate forcing everyone to purchase health insurance.

Aside from the blatant disregard for individual freedom, this regulation ensures younger, healthier Americans who stay in the system will pay the higher premiums that subsidize healthcare for everyone else.

Of course liberals don’t talk about these restrictions. Why would they? Obamacare amounts to a giant burden on young and healthy Americans, and Obama needs the votes of young people in November.

The only thing the president does mention about Obamacare is that it allows “children” to stay on their parents’ health plans until they are 26.

But the only reason Obamacare forces parents to pay for their 26-year-old “kids” is that the law makes it impossible for youths to buy basic, inexpensive plans on the individual market.

It’s an astonishing paradox that on one hand, our generation insists that our elders recognize our maturity and take us seriously in every way, but when it comes to politics we beg for the nanny state to legislate us into dependence on our parents until we are 26-year-old “children.”

I have a better idea.

Young Americans should demand reforms to our health system that lift the taxes, burdens and mandates foisted on us and give us the freedom and opportunity to choose our own health insurance and care for ourselves.

Until those reforms are made, Barack Obama deserves none of our votes.

Ryan Fazio is a Weinberg senior. He can be reached at [email protected]

All opinions expressed in this column are solely the opinions of the columnist and do not reflect the views of The Daily Northwestern. If you would like to respond to the column, you may comment below, email the columnist or submit a 300-word letter to the editor to [email protected].