As consumer liaison for the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance, Cindy Fillman has been busy lately lecturing newly minted college graduates about how risky it can be to go without healthcare coverage.

She often tells the story of her brother, who, like many recent graduates short on cash and feeling the invincibility of youth, decided to play the odds and not buy insurance.

Unfortunately, he fell and broke his leg. The accident required surgery and left him with tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills.

Seven years later, he is still trying to pay off the tab.

"That's a compelling story for kids that age because they can see that happening to them," Fillman said. "It's not an illness that they think they'll never get."

Across the country, thousands of recent graduates are facing similar decisions about healthcare coverage.

Many have not yet found a job, let alone one that offers health insurance. And because they no longer are full-time students, they typically are not eligible for coverage under their parents' family plans at work.

With limited financial resources and unsure where to turn, many simply go without.

There are an estimated 13.7 million people 19 to 29 without medical coverage — the largest and fastest-growing segment of uninsured in the nation.

For young adults who aren't inclined to roll the dice, several options are available for getting coverage.

Although college graduates may have outgrown dependent coverage under their parents' policies at work, they may be eligible to extend the coverage, for up to 36 months, at group rates by buying it through the employer's Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) plan.

COBRA tends to provide richer benefits at a lower cost than a policy purchased at individual rates, Fillman said. COBRA also may be a good option for people with pre-existing medical conditions because they can't be turned down or required to pay higher premiums.

To get coverage, parents must notify their employer within 60 days of the child's graduation.

If COBRA isn't an option, many large insurers offer individual policies at a range of prices that allow policyholders to adjust the cost of the monthly premium depending on the level of benefits.

At Aetna, for example, rates for a 24-year-old range from $59 to $183 a month for a male and from $72 to $286 for a female, according to spokesman Walter Cherniak Jr. Rates for women are higher because of the potential for pregnancy.

The cheapest plans don't cover office visits or prescription drugs and have higher co-payments and deductibles than the more expensive plans.

Because young adults typically are healthier than older adults, one lower cost option might be to buy a high-deductible major medical policy to cover only catastrophic expenses. Some high-deductible plans can be paired with Health Savings Accounts, which allow the policyholder to set aside money tax-free to pay for medical bills that aren't covered.

Aetna offers an HSA-compatible plan for $95 a month with maximum deductibles and co-pays of $5,000 if the healthcare providers are in the Aetna network. Out-of-pocket expenses can zoom to a maximum of $10,000 if providers are outside the network.

For a short-term solution, many college alumni associations offer major medical policies intended as a bridge between graduation and a full-time job.

The University of Pittsburgh Alumni Association, for example, offers coverage through GradMed for two months up to six months for in-hospital and outpatient treatment.

Premiums vary, depending on the length of the policy, from about $100 to $150 a month for males and $110 to $160 for females.