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Uninsured

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.

New and noteworthy

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 >>

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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  • Medicaid Overview: Briefing Charts

    Report

    Complements the Medicaid primer by providing basic information and statistics about the program through a series of charts. Chart Pack

  • Issues Related to Unspent S-CHIP Money

    Issue Brief

    A new policy brief discusses issues involving over $11 billion of S-CHIP funds that states have not spent. It has been proposed that states could apply to use the funds for unemployed workers in these tough economic times. What are the implications? ISSUE BRIEF Download

  • Designing Health Purchasing Alliances/Cooperatives: Federal Policy Issues and Options

    Other Post

    A comparison of the key features of alliance design in the Clinton, Chafee/Thomas, and Cooper/Breaux health reform proposals of 1994, examining the trade-offs inherent in alternative alliance design.(For more information about alliances, see #2063, Permitting Voluntary Enrollment in Regional Alliances Under the Health Security Act: The Impact on Spending for Employers and the Federal Government.) Note: This publication is no longer in circulation. However, a copy may still exist in the Foundation's internal library that…

  • How Well Does the Employment-Based Health Insurance System Work for Low-Income Families?

    Other Post

    Part 3 What Explains the Coverage Decline? Rapidly rising health care costs-or, more precisely, employers' responses to costs-have contributed to the widespread erosion of employer coverage. As employers have shifted costs to workers, participation has dropped. Low-wage workers have been disproportionately affected by rising costs, losing access to coverage as well as finding participation more difficult. Their problems have been exacerbated by structural changes in labor markets, which have weakened the tie between jobs and…

  • Key Facts: Women and Medicare

    Report

    Medicare is a critical source of health insurance coverage for virtually all older women in the U.S. and for many younger women who have permanent disabilities. Today, 22 million women one in five adult women rely on Medicare for basic health insurance protection. In fact, women comprise 57% of the Medicare population. Medicare helps to make health care more affordable for older women at a time in their lives when they are most likely to…

  • Medicaid and Managed Care

    Fact Sheet

    This fact sheet provides an overview of the Medicaid program's increasing reliance on managed care to deliver services. Fact Sheet

  • Directions for Health Reform: Testimony before the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, United States Senate

    Event Date:
    Event

    This testimony presents a brief overview of the uninsured and health insurance coverage in the United States. The testimony describes the important role that the Medicaid program has come to play in providing health insurance coverage for 32 million low-income Americans, and it provides some perspective on policy options for consideration in the debate on the future direction of health reform.

  • Rewarding Healthy Behaviors: Variation in Health Risk Across Industries Among American Workers

    Issue Brief

    Faced with an unsustainable growth in health care costs, both employers and policymakers have begun to consider the potential savings that might be achieved by investments in health promotion and better access to preventive care. There has also been public discussion about the potential of building financial incentives for healthy behaviors and the use of prevention services into health plans. Creating the right incentives is a challenge however, because experience is so limited and healthy…

  • Additional Resources on Hurricane Katrina Relief

    Other Post

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)http://www.hhs.gov/katrina/index.html HHS Resources Targeting Minority Communitieshttp://www.os.dhhs.gov/news/press/2005pres/20050930a.html Congressional Hearings and Resources: Hearing: Hurricane Katrina: Community Rebuilding Needs and Effectiveness of Past Proposalshttp://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/hearing092805.htm Hearing: Assessing Public Health and the Delivery of Care in the Wake of Katrinahttp://energycommerce.house.gov/108/Hearings/09222005hearing1643/hearing.htm Senate Committee Reports and Other Information About Hurricane Katrinahttp://help.senate.gov/katrina.htm Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)http://www.cms.hhs.gov/katrina/ Social Security Administration (SSA)http://www.ssa.gov/emergency/ Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)http://www.fema.gov/ Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)http://www.fns.usda.gov/disasters/disaster.htm U.S. Department of…