Uninsured

New and noteworthy

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

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1,141 - 1,150 of 1,308 Results

  • Long-Term Care:  Medicaid’s Role and Challenges

    Issue Brief

    Long-Term Care: Medicaid's Role and Challenges This Policy Brief examines Medicaid's role in providing long-term care services. It describes long-term care services, the population that needs these services, and how people get long-term care services.

  • The Kaiser Project on Incremental Health Reform

    Other Post

    In November 1996, the Kaiser Family Foundation initiated a project to examine different strategies for expanding health insurance coverage to America's growing uninsured population.

  • The Difference Different Approaches Make: Comparing Proposals to Expand Health Insurance

    Report

    The Difference Different Approaches Make: Comparing Proposals to Expand Health Insurance This paper estimates and compares the impacts of alternative mechanisms for expanding health insurance coverage. A variety of approaches-expansions of existing public programs, direct subsidies, and tax credits-and target populations-including children, poor adults, parents of Medicaid- or CHIP-covered children, and early retirees-are considered.

  • An Assessment of Strategies for Expanding Health Insurance Coverage

    Report

    This paper provides a conceptual analysis of alternative mechanisms (tax credits, public programs, and direct subsidies) for expanding health insurance coverage. The paper, which is part of the Kaiser Incremental Health Reform Project, discusses the likely impacts alternative approaches on a variety of outcomes including efficiency in increasing coverage and integration with existing insurance systems.

  • Extending Health Insurance Through Tax Credits

    Report

    Part of the Kaiser Incremental Health Reform Project, this paper describes a generous tax credit approach to the expansion of health insurance coverage. The design features of refundable, publicly-financed tax credits for the purchase of health insurance are described for a range of sample plans.

  • Expansions in Public Health Insurance and Crowd-Out: What the Evidence Says

    Report

    Enactment of the Children's Health Insurance Program has been accompanied by concerns that new coverage will "crowd out" private health insurance coverage. Part of the Kaiser Incremental Health Reform Project, this paper reviews existing empirical literature on the magnitude of crowd-out and discusses implications for CHIP.