Home Uninsured Topics

Uninsured

New and noteworthy

Quote from KFF President and CEO Drew Altman reads, "when it comes to the “affordability crisis” driving the national discussion of health care today, the chronically ill, and most of all the chronically ill uninsured, are the tip of the spear."

The Group that Struggles the Most in American Health Care

In a new column, Dr. Drew Altman, KFF’s Founding President and CEO, previews findings about the chronically ill uninsured from a large KFF survey of 25,000 Americans focusing on the cost and access challenges facing the chronically ill, which will be released tomorrow. He writes: “There are more than enough needs to go around in American health care, but if I had to pick the one group that struggles the most with costs and access, it would be people with chronic illnesses who are also uninsured.”

Other “Beyond the Data” columns >>

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.

Data and analysis

The coverage gap exists because some states did not expand Medicaid under the ACA to cover adults under age 65 without dependent children with incomes at/below 138% of the federal poverty level (FPL)

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 ACA tax credits that would make coverage affordable.

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.

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 >>

Latest News

More KFF Health News

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on the Uninsured

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on the Uninsured

View the Latest: Uninsured

Filter

List Grid

111-120 of 1,316 results

  • 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…

  • Putting Men’s Health Care Disparities on the Map: Health Status Highlights

    Report

    This fact sheet provides a brief overview of racial disparities in health status among men of different races in the United States. It draws findings from the report, Putting Men’s Health Care Disparities On the Map, which uses national data sources from multiple years to generate state-level estimates on a range of indicators of health status, access, and well-being for men of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Women and men of different races and ethnicities…

  • Assessing Americans’ Familiarity With Health Insurance Terms and Concepts

    Poll Finding

    With the approaching launch of the second open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) health insurance marketplaces and at a time when open enrollment is also happening for many job-based plans, the Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a nationally representative survey of 1,292 U.S. adults to shed light on Americans’ understanding of basic health insurance terms and concepts, and to identify gaps in awareness that could lead to difficulties for some individuals as they…

  • The ‘Private Option’ Medicaid Expansion in Arkansas Has Helped Reduce the Uninsured Rate and Uncompensated Care Costs While Boosting the State’s ACA Marketplace

    News Release

    A new issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that Arkansas’ “private option” Medicaid expansion has helped reduce the number of uninsured and bring down uncompensated care costs while strengthening the state’s ACA marketplace. A Look at the Private Option in Arkansas draws upon early data as well as interviews conducted in spring 2015 with state officials, providers, insurance carriers, and consumer advocates to provide an initial look how implementation of the private option…

  • The Affordable Choices Initiative: An Overview

    Fact Sheet

    The President's Affordable Choices initiative would permit states to redirect funds paid to hospitals and other health care institutions to initiatives that would provide the uninsured with private insurance. This fact sheet provides an overview of the fiscal year 2008 budget initiative. Fact Sheet (.pdf)

  • Uninsured Children in the South, December 2007

    Report

    Uninsured Children in the South, December 2007 Commissioned by the Foundation, this report by the Southern Institute on Children and Families provides state-by-state estimates of uninsured children in the southern region of the country, which contains 17 states and the District of Columbia. The report contains fact sheets showing estimates of uninsured children for each of these states and shows that nearly half (46%) of the over nine million uninsured children in the United States…

  • Briefing – A Foundation for Health Reform: Findings of An Annual 50-State Survey of Eligibility Rules, Enrollment and Renewal Procedures and Cost-Sharing Practices in Medicaid and CHIP for Children and Parents During 2009

    Report

    In 2009, despite the bleakest economic picture in years, states managed to safeguard and in some cases expand health coverage for children and parents in their Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Programs, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's annual 50-state survey of Medicaid and CHIP eligibility rules, enrollment and renewal procedures and cost-sharing Practices. That was in large part due to the substantial help that states received through the congressional reauthorization of CHIP and the…

  • Uncompensated Care for the Uninsured in 2013: A Detailed Examination

    Report

    This report provides estimates of spending for uncompensated care, in 2013, just before implementation of health reform’s major coverage provisions. The report estimates the amount of uncompensated care provided, analyzes the site of care for uncompensated services, and details sources of funding for uncompensated care. These estimates provide an important baseline against which to measure major changes that are occurring under the ACA.

  • What Worked and What’s Next? Strategies in Four States Leading ACA Enrollment Efforts

    Issue Brief

    This brief highlights the experiences of four states—Colorado, Connecticut, Kentucky, and Washington—that established a State-based Marketplace (SBM), implemented the ACA’s Medicaid expansion, and achieved success enrolling eligible individuals into coverage. Based on interviews with key stakeholders in each state, it identifies effective strategies that contributed to enrollment and current priorities looking forward.