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

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1,241-1,250 of 1,313 results

  • Health Insurance Coverage in 2013: Gains in Public Coverage Continue to Offset Loss of Private Insurance

    Issue Brief

    The recession accelerated the long-standing decline in employer-sponsored health insurance and through 2013 most of the recovery in the uninsured rate was due to increased enrollment in public insurance, primarily Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). With the exception of young adults ages 19 to 25, who are able to remain on their parents’ health plan until age 26 under the ACA, ESI coverage rates for adults and children continued to decrease between…

  • Americans’ Views on the Affordable Care Act Hold Steady, with 43% Now Viewing It Favorably and 42% Unfavorably

    News Release

    Few Report Seeing Comparative Information about Health Care Prices and Quality, and Less Than 10% Use It Pocketbook and Consumer Issues Top Public's List of Priorities for the President and Congress, Ahead of Several ACA-Related Issues This month's Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds public opinion on the health care law holding steady and closely divided. The share expressing a favorable view (43%) exceeds the share with an unfavorable view (42%) for the first time since…

  • At Tax Time, No Public Backlash Over Obamacare’s Individual Mandate

    From Drew Altman

    This was published as a Wall Street Journal Think Tank column on April 21, 2015. Tax season has come and gone with no great outbreak of protest about the Affordable Care Act’s least popular provision: the individual mandate. This central element of the ACA was included to help ensure that the individual insurance market would have balanced pools of healthier people and sicker people to help spread insurance risk and keep premiums reasonable. While most of the…

  • At Tax Time, No Public Backlash Over Obamacare’s Individual Mandate

    News Release

    As tax season closes, Drew Altman looks at why the ACA’s individual mandate and tax credit reconciliation process “passed their first major hurdles this tax season with no significant public backlash,” in his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank.

  • Coverage Expansions and the Remaining Uninsured: A Look at California During Year One of ACA Implementation

    Report

    California is a bellwether state for understanding the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Much attention has been paid to enrollment in California's new coverage options, such as the Medicaid expansion (Medi-Cal) and plans sold through ACA marketplaces (Covered California), and to changes in the uninsured from 2013 to 2014. However, less is known about how this coverage has affected people’s access to care and financial security, and why others remain uninsured. This report,…

  • Access to Care for the Insured and Remaining Uninsured: A Look at California During Year One of ACA Implementation

    Issue Brief

    California is a bellwether state for understanding the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Much attention has been paid to enrollment in California's new coverage options, such as the Medicaid expansion (Medi-Cal) and plans sold through ACA marketplaces (Covered California), and to changes in the uninsured from 2013 to 2014. However, less is known about how this coverage has affected people’s access to care and financial security, and why others remain uninsured. This report,…

  • About 5 Million Uninsured People Could Get ACA Marketplace Coverage Without a Monthly Premium – But They Would Have to Enroll Soon

    News Release

    About 5 million uninsured people across the country could get coverage through an Affordable Care Act Marketplace health plan with virtually no monthly premium if they enroll soon, a new KFF analysis finds. In most states, open enrollment runs through January 15, with tax credits available to help eligible low- and middle-income people afford coverage. Those tax credits would offset the full monthly premium for the lowest cost plan or plans for millions of uninsured…

  • As States Prepare to “Unwind” the Medicaid Continuous Enrollment Provision, Past Patterns Show That Most People Who Are Disenrolled from Medicaid Become Uninsured for All or Part of the Next 12 Months

    News Release

    Roughly two-thirds (65%) of people who were disenrolled from Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in a recent year became uninsured for all or part of the 12 months that followed, a new KFF analysis finds. The analysis of enrollment data from the 2016-2019 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) suggests that many of the millions of people across the U.S. who are expected to lose Medicaid following the end of the pandemic-era continuous…