Uninsured

new and noteworthy

Data and analysis

How Many Uninsured Are in the Coverage Gap?

This analysis estimates that 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 coverage ACA's Marketplaces affordable to them.

Key Facts about the Uninsured Population

The number of people ages 0-64 who were uninsured held steady at 25.3 million in 2023, although the number of uninsured children rose from 3.8 million to 4.0 million. Most uninsured people are in low-income families and have at least one worker in the family.

How the Unwinding Affected Enrollees

Over half who were disenrolled say they put off needed medical care while trying to renew Medicaid. Overall, 19% of adults who had Medicaid prior to the start of unwinding say they were disenrolled at some point in the past year. Of this group, a large majority (70%) were left at least temporarily uninsured.

The uninsured: How costs affect care and health, 2023

Latest Polling
8%

Percent of adults who reported not having health insurance
55%

Percent of uninsured adults who reported delaying or forgoing some form of health care due to cost
19%

Percent of uninsured adults who report that they or a family member had difficulty paying medical bills
38%

Percent of uninsured adults who reported not having a usual source of care (vs. 8% of insured adults)

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  • How Have State Medicaid Expansion Decisions Affected the Experiences of Low-Income Adults? Perspectives from Ohio, Arkansas, and Missouri

    Issue Brief

    This brief examines the experiences of low-income adults in three states that have made varied Medicaid expansion decisions: Ohio, which adopted the ACA Medicaid expansion, Arkansas which implemented the Medicaid expansion through a “Private Option” waiver, and Missouri, which has not adopted the expansion. While Arkansas and Ohio implemented the expansion in different ways, participants in both states described how obtaining coverage improved their ability to access care, contributing to improvements in their ability to work and family relationships. In contrast, participants in Missouri remained uninsured limiting their ability to obtain needed care, creating significant stress and anxiety in their lives, and interfering with their ability to work and care for their families.

  • Year Two of the ACA Coverage Expansions: On-the-Ground Experiences from Five States

    Issue Brief

    This brief provides an on-the-ground view of ACA implementation after completion of the second open enrollment period. It is based on 40 in-person interviews conducted in five states that have made different implementation choices, including three states (Colorado, Kentucky, and Washington) that have developed a State-based Marketplace and adopted the Medicaid expansion and two states (Utah and Virginia) that rely on the Federally-facilitated Marketplace (FFM) for enrollment of individuals into qualified health plans (QHPs) and that have not adopted the Medicaid expansion to date. The interviews were conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured and Perry Undem Research/Communication with a range of stakeholders in each state, including Medicaid and Marketplace officials, consumer advocates, assisters, and hospital and community health center representatives, during April and May 2015. The report presents key findings related to enrollment systems; enrollment and renewal; outreach, marketing, and enrollment assistance; and access to and utilization of care. It concludes with key priorities identified by stakeholders looking ahead.

  • Visualizing Health Policy: Health Care Coverage and Access for Men, 2013-2015

    News Release

    This Visualizing Health Policy infographic provides a snapshot of men’s health care and insurance coverage issues, including health status, access to care and use of services. It compares the uninsured rates of men and women, their cost barriers to care, their connection to clinicians, and their use of prescription drugs, screening, and counseling services.

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: April 2015

    Feature

    This month’s Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds public opinion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues to be almost evenly split The poll also asks about health care priorities for the President and Congress, and the concern that comes out on top for Democrats, Republicans and independents alike is making sure that high-cost drugs for chronic conditions are affordable to those who need them. Other than high-cost prescription drugs, Democrats, Republicans and independents have different ideas of their top priorities in health care. The poll also assesses Americans' use of comparative price and quality information about doctors, hospitals and health plans.