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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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  • 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…

  • Health Centers in Puerto Rico: Operational Status after Hurricane Maria

    Fact Sheet

    In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico's health centers, a critical part of the island's health care system are working to rebuild; however, recovery remains slow and plagued by many challenges. This interactive map provides a snapshot of the operational status of the 93 health center sites in Puerto Rico.

  • Federal Legislation Related to Medicaid and Opioids: What to Watch

    News Release

    With President Trump having declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency, both the House and Senate are advancing legislation to address the crisis. A new issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation summarizes current federal legislative proposals related to Medicaid’s role in the opioid epidemic and identifies issues to watch as final legislation takes shape. The House has passed several bills culminating in the Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment…

  • Medicare-for-All vs. Single Payer: The Impact of Labels

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, "Medicare-for-All vs. Single Payer: The Impact of Labels", Drew Altman uses new polling on a Medicare-for-all or single payer health system to explain how what you call a health reform plan can substantially affect the public's response.

  • Medicaid Expansion Waivers: What Will We Learn?

    Issue Brief

    Section 1115 waivers authorize research and demonstration projects that, in the view of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, further the purposes of the Medicaid program. The ACA implemented new requirements for these waivers, including that states must have a publicly available, approved evaluation strategy. This brief examines some of the major research questions and hypotheses relevant to the federal and state evaluations of Medicaid expansion Section 1115 waivers and explores key challenges that…

  • The New Health Reform Law and Young Adults

    Event Date:
    Event

    Young adults have some of the highest uninsurance rates in America. In 2008, three in 10 uninsured Americans – almost 14 million people – were between 19 and 29 years of age. The new health reform law requires insurers to allow dependent children to remain on their parents’ plans until age 26. But many questions remain, such as who qualifies as a dependent? What does the Massachusetts reform experience teach us about insuring young adults?…

  • Snapshots from the Kitchen Table: Family Budgets and Health Care

    Video

    This Kaiser Family Foundation documentary, “Snapshots from the Kitchen Table: Family Budgets and Health Care,” profiles several American families who are struggling to make ends meet. It depicts the narrow financial ledge on which millions of low- and middle- income working households stand even in normal economic times, and illustrates the central role that health care costs and coverage play in a household’s economic stability. Some of the families profiled have health insurance, others do…

  • Reversing the Trend? Understanding the Recent Increase in Health Insurance Coverage among the Nonelderly Population

    Issue Brief

    This brief examines why the number of nonelderly uninsured people in the U.S. declined by 1.2 million in 2011, the latest year for which Census data are available. The analysis finds that the decrease – a reversal of the rise in the uninsured in previous years stemming from the recent recession – was the result of an increase in coverage through public programs such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Most of the…