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Affordability Is the Issue Now, But Look for the Uninsured to Make a Comeback

A new column on the uninsured from President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman explains: “The uninsured is not the most politically salient problem in health care now, that’s affordability, nor is it the non-problem some say it is. But it’s coming back. And the problem of the chronically ill uninsured is glaring.” Read more.

Key Facts about the Uninsured Population

The number and share of people without insurance grew in 2024, increasing for the first time since 2019, according to KFF’s analysis of data from the American Community Survey (ACS). This issue brief describes trends in health coverage in 2024, examines the characteristics of the uninsured population , and summarizes the access and financial implications of not having coverage.

More on the uninsured population >>

Data and analysis

The Uninsured and Health Coverage

This Health Policy 101 chapter examines the share of the United States population who are uninsured, highlighting their demographics and the challenges they face because of the lack of coverage.

State Health Facts: Health Coverage & the Uninsured

Get data on health insurance status for the population overall and broken down by age, gender, and income. More than 800 up-to-date health indicators at the state level can be mapped, ranked, and downloaded through State Health Facts.

How Many Uninsured Are in the Coverage Gap?

An estimated 1.4 million uninsured individuals in the 10 states without Medicaid expansion, including many working adults, people of color, and those with disabilities, remain in the “coverage gap,” ineligible for Medicaid or for tax credits that would make ACA coverage affordable to them.

Key Facts on Health Coverage of Immigrants

This fact sheet provides an overview of health coverage for immigrants based on data from the 2023 KFF/LA Times Survey of Immigrants. As of 2023, half of likely undocumented immigrant adults and one in five lawfully present immigrant adults reported being uninsured.

Who was uninsured in 2024?

Latest Polling
9.8%

The share of people under age 65 without insurance
62%

The share of uninsured adults who said they were uninsured because coverage is not affordable
59%

The share of uninsured adults who said they or someone living with them had problems paying for health care
39%

The share of uninsured adults who reported delaying or not getting needed care or medication due to cost
Other key facts about the uninsured >>

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  • A Guide to the Supreme Court’s Decision on the ACA’s Medicaid Expansion

    Issue Brief

    On June 28, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in the case challenging the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Court upheld the constitutionality of the ACA's individual mandate, which requires most people to maintain a minimum level of health insurance coverage beginning in 2014. A majority of the Court also found the ACA's Medicaid expansion unconstitutionally coercive of states, while a different majority of the Court held that this issue was fully remedied…

  • The Role of Medicaid for Adults With Chronic Illnesses

    Fact Sheet

    This report and related fact sheets provide data on spending, utilization, and access to care among low-income nonelderly adult Medicaid beneficiaries with chronic illnesses. Four fact sheets provide detail for beneficiaries with diabetes, respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, and behavioral health conditions The reports show that, despite relatively high prevalence of chronic conditions and, correspondingly, relatively high spending and utilization rates, Medicaid beneficiaries with chronic illness report better access to care than their uninsured counterparts, many…

  • Changes in Employees’ Health Insurance Coverage, 2001-2005

    Issue Brief

    This paper examines the underlying reasons behind the decline in employer coverage among employees from 2001 to 2005. The paper finds that almost half of the decline in employer-sponsored coverage was due to a loss of employer sponsorship. Another quarter of the decline was due to lost eligibility for benefits or losing access as a dependent of another employee. The remaining quarter of the decline was due to employees not participating in the offer of…

  • The Public’s Health Care Agenda for the New Congress and Presidential Campaign, December 2006

    Poll Finding

    This Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health National Survey looks at the public's priorities and views on health issues as a new Democratic majority takes the leadership of Congress and as the 2008 presidential campaign begins to take shape. It focuses, in particular, on differences and similarities among Democrats, Republicans, and those who identify themselves as Independents or something else. The poll, conducted November 9-19, 2006, by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard…

  • Resuming the Path to Health Coverage for Children and Parents: A 50-State Update on Eligibility Rules, Enrollment and Renewal Procedures, and Cost-Sharing Practices in Medicaid and SCHIP in 2006

    Poll Finding

    Maintaining and expanding health coverage for children and parents will likely be in the forefront of health care policy debates in Washington and state capitols in 2007. With states generally in better financial shape since the fiscal crisis earlier in the decade, many have expressed interest in improving access to their Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP). A new 50-state survey shows that one-third of states (17) increased access to health coverage in…

  • Giving Voice to the People of New Orleans: The Kaiser Post-Katrina Baseline Survey

    Poll Finding

    This house-to-house survey of people living in the New Orleans area examines the ongoing struggles of residents seeking to recover from the Hurricane Katrina disaster, including a detailed look at differences in views and experiences by race. Designed and analyzed by researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation, the survey provides a portrait of the enormous needs of the population in order to inform recovery efforts and policy development on the Gulf Coast and in Washington.…

  • How Trends in the Health Care System Affect Low-Income Adults: Identifying Access Problems and Financial Burdens

    Issue Brief

    As policymakers focus on strategies to improve health insurance coverage, this brief highlights findings from the Kaiser Low-Income Coverage and Access Survey on the current role that insurance plays in facilitating access to care for low-income adults and in protecting against financial burdens. Findings demonstrate that health insurance is a critical lever to open the door to health care services for low-income adults. Uninsured low-income adults often experience health problems, but are more likely than…

  • Medicaid in a Declining Economy:  Limited Approaches for States to Control Spending

    Issue Brief

    Medicaid in a Declining Economy: Limited Approaches for States to Control Spending This brief analyzes results from its annual 50-state budget surveys of Medicaid directors from 2003 to 2007. The historical results describe how states adopted a wide array of Medicaid cost containment strategies during the last economic downturn and were assisted by the federal government to avoid deeper Medicaid cuts. Issue Brief (.pdf) See related material on this issue

  • Pulling It Together: Jobs, A Reason to Fast Track Coverage

    Perspective

    The two big topics in Washington right now are the economy and health care.  I've written before about how the two are linked, and in particular about how among the everyday economic problems people are having, paying for health care is a big one. But the latest numbers out from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show there is another link: Health care is one of the few relatively healthy parts of our unhealthy economy right now. Since…

  • Survey of Healthy San Francisco Participants

    Poll Finding

    This survey of enrollees in Healthy San Francisco (HSF), the city’s health care access program for the uninsured, reports high rates of satisfaction and signs that the program has improved access to care for those uninsured residents who have enrolled. In 2006, San Francisco created a unique health access program to provide access to affordable basic and ongoing health care services for its uninsured residents at participating clinics and hospitals. All uninsured city residents not…