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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  • What Options Exist If You’ve Lost Job-based Health Insurance? (Video)

    Video

    As unemployment skyrockets due to the COVID-19 pandemic, tens of millions of people are at risk of losing their job-based health insurance. However, the majority of people are eligible for other forms of health insurance coverage. Watch this two minute video to learn about the options: Medicaid, job-based coverage from a spouse or parent, ACA marketplace coverage, COBRA and short-term insurance plans.

  • Impact of Coronavirus on Community Health Centers

    Issue Brief

    Community health centers are a national network of safety net primary care providers that fill an important role in national, state, and local responses to the coronavirus pandemic. This brief presents findings from new data that provide insights into how health centers are adapting their services in response to the pandemic and how coronavirus is affecting their operations and long-term financial outlook with patient visits and revenue from those visits dropping precipitously.

  • As Unemployment Skyrockets, KFF Estimates More than 20 Million People Losing Job-Based Health Coverage Will Become Eligible for ACA Coverage through Medicaid or Marketplace Tax Credits

    News Release

    Coverage Losses Will Affect At Least a Million Residents in Each of Eight States: California, Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, Georgia, Florida, Michigan and Ohio With more than 31 million workers filing unemployment claims between March 1 and May 2 as the coronavirus crisis hit the nation’s economy, a new KFF analysis estimates 26.8 million people across the country would become uninsured due to loss of job-based health coverage if they don't sign up for other…

  • Eligibility for ACA Health Coverage Following Job Loss

    Issue Brief

    As unemployment claims skyrocket amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, this analysis examines the potential loss of job-based coverage among people in families where someone lost employment between March 1 and May 2 and estimate their eligibility for ACA coverage as of May and January 2021, when most will have exhausted their unemployment benefits.

  • Analysis Estimates Up To 2 Million Uninsured People Could Require COVID-19 Hospitalization

    News Release

    Patients Could Still Be on the Hook for Outpatient Costs, Costs If They Test Negative, and Cost Sharing A new KFF analysis estimates that between 670,000 and 2 million uninsured people around the country eventually could be hospitalized with COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Reimbursing hospitals for those treatments could cost between $13.9 billion and $41.8 billion. Trump administration has indicated that it plans to reimburse hospitals for the care of…