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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
Other key facts about the uninsured >>

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  • Health Coverage for Low-Income Parents

    Fact Sheet

    The fact sheet summarizes the health coverage of low-income parents, including recent trends, and discusses the current policy challenges related to expanding care for this population. Fact Sheet (.pdf)

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Election 2008 — June 2007

    Poll Finding

    This June tracking poll finds that health care remains the top domestic issue that the public wants presidential candidates to address, trailing only Iraq on the public’s overall priority list. Iraq ranks first among Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike. Health care ranks second among Democrats and Independents, while Republicans rank immigration second and health care third.  Immigration rose sharply as an issue in the new poll, which was taken as media attention focused on the…

  • How Non-Group Health Coverage Varies With Income

    Report

    With some federal and state policy makers considering ways to encourage more people to purchase non-group, or individual, health care coverage, this new analysis by Kaiser Family Foundation researchers examines how often people at different income levels buy such coverage when they do not have access to employer coverage or do not obtain public coverage. The analysis finds that relatively few people at lower incomes purchase non-group coverage, with one in 20 purchasing it among…

  • Challenges of Providing Health Coverage for Children and Parents in a Recession: A 50 State Update on Eligibility Rules, Enrollment and Renewal Procedures, and Cost-Sharing Practices in Medicaid and SCHIP in 2009

    Report

    Overall, more than one-third of the states (19 states) took steps last year to increase access to health coverage for low-income children, pregnant women and parents –- including 15 states that authorized or implemented coverage expansions. At the same time, 10 states enacted at least one measure to restrict access. The report also examines trends in parental coverage and state outreach efforts, including the use of technology to facilitate enrollment. Full Report (.pdf) Data Tables…

  • CHIP TIPS: Medicaid Performance Bonus

    Issue Brief

    This brief, the first in a series, examines the new federal "performance bonus" available to states that do an especially good job of signing up eligible children for Medicaid. The bonus, created by a provision in the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, is designed to help states cover the added costs that result when states are very successful in enrolling eligible children in Medicaid above target levels specified in the law. It…

  • Express Lane Eligibility Efforts: Lessons Learned from Early State Cross-Program Enrollment Initiatives

    Issue Brief

    The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) provides states new options to reach and enroll eligible but uninsured low-income children into Medicaid and CHIP. The law's Express Lane Eligibility (ELE) provisions enable state Medicaid and CHIP agencies to identify, enroll and recertify children by relying on eligibility findings from other programs, such as Head Start or Food Stamps, rather than having to re-analyze eligibility under their own rules. Further, CHIPRA authorizes greater…

  • Health Care In New Orleans: Progress and Remaining Challenges

    Event Date:
    Event

    On Dec. 3, 2009, Diane Rowland, the Foundation Executive Vice President and Executive Director of the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, delivered this testimony on the post-Katrina recovery efforts to restore health care to the New Orleans area before the U.S.House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Testimony (.pdf)

  • Article and Policy Forum Examine Medicare, Health Reform and the Challenges Facing People With Disabilities

    Event Date:
    Event

    Wednesday, Sept. 8, the Foundation held a policy workshop examining Medicare, health reform and the challenges facing people with disabilities. Younger Medicare beneficiaries with disabilities are much more likely than seniors in the program to report problems accessing and paying for needed medical services, Kaiser Family Foundation researchers report in this Health Affairs article. Based on a national random-sample survey of people on Medicare, the study finds that half of nonelderly disabled beneficiaries report problems…