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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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  • Falling Through the Cracks: Health Insurance Coverage of Low-Income Women

    Report

    Access to health coverage is a challenge for millions of low-income women. Because they are more likely to be low-wage workers and work in industries that don't offer benefits, access to job-based coverage is often problematic. Avenues for assistance are available to some through Medicaid. However, despite the program s broadened focus on children and pregnant women, restrictive income and categorical requirements still leave millions of women ineligible and often uninsured. Recent changes in public…

  • The Medicaid Eligibility Maze: Coverage Expands, but Problems Persist

    Report

    This report examines Medicaid eligibility policies and operations in five states - California, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota and Wisconsin - following initial changes introduced by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 and the new Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The study findings suggest that eligibility policy expansions alone may not prevent Medicaid enrollment declines. The report discusses several problem areas affecting Medicaid eligibility and enrollment operations including challenges in severing Medicaid…

  • Prescription Drug Coverage for Medicare Beneficiaries: A Side-by-Side Comparison of Selected Proposals

    Report

    Updated, July 31, 2002 This document, prepared by Health Policy Alternatives, Inc., provides a side-by-side comparison of five major federal proposals to provide outpatient prescription drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries, introduced as of July 31, 2002: H.R. 4954, The Medicare Modernization and Prescription Drug Act of 2002 (passed by the House of Representatives on June 28, 2002); H.R. 5019, The Medicare Rx Drug Benefit and Discount Act of 2002 (Rep. Rangel/House Democratic proposal); S. 2625,…

  • The Medicare Program: Servicios De Salud Administrados Por Medicare

    Fact Sheet

    Panorama General: Medicare proporciona servicios de salud a casi 39 millones de norteamericanos, incluyendo aproximadamente a 34 millones de ancianos y a 5 millones de discapacitados. La gran mayoria de estas personas cubren sus gastos medicos directamente mediante el programa tradicional de "pago por servicio," mientras que el 15 porciento restante (mas de 5 millone de beneficiarios) estan cubiertos bajo algun plan de servicio medico contratado con Medicare, principalmente las organizaciones de administracion de la…

  • SCHIP Administration and Accountability

    Report

    The third in a series of reports on implementation issues and challenges in the first year of S-CHIP finds that non-Medicaid S-CHIP programs faced more administrative challenges. Success with enrollment appeared primarily related to administrative decisions, including a lower band of S-CHIP income eligibility, and the lack of premiums. REPORT Download

  • Medicaid’s Role for Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries

    Fact Sheet

    Medicaid's Role for Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries An overview that identifies low-income Medicare beneficiaries (dual eligibles), how Medicaid can provide care for them, and the challenges to accessing care. Fact Sheet

  • Medicare and Prescription Drug Focus Groups

    Report

    Summary Report This report, : Summary Report, produced jointly by the bipartisan team of Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies and Geoff Garin of Peter D. Hart Research Associates, presents key findings from a series of eight focus groups on the Medicare program and the current debate over prescription drug coverage and Medicare reform. These groups, conducted in four cities with both elderly and non-elderly participants in June 2001, explored attitudes about Medicare and how…

  • An Analysis of Reforming Medicare Through a ‘Premium Support’ Program

    Report

    An Analysis of Reforming Medicare Through a 'Premium Support' Program This report examines one of the leading approaches to reforming the Medicare program, known as premium support. Under this model, the current Medicare program would be replaced by a system of competing public and private health plans, and the federal government would pay a set amount per beneficiary. The authors conclude that, while premium support could potentially improve Medicare's efficiency and improve quality, traditional Medicare…

  • Seniors and Prescription Drugs: An 8-State Survey

    Report

    A new study conducted by researchers at Tufts-New England Medical Center, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Commonwealth Fund, reports results from a 2001 survey of 10,927 noninstitutionalized seniors in eight geographically diverse states: California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. State-level data on drug coverage, medication use, out-of-pocket costs, and cost-related medication skipping among community-dwelling seniors are highlighted to examine how coverage and experiences differ by state and how…