Home Uninsured Topics

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 >>

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 >>

Latest News

No Posts to Show

More KFF Health News

Subscribe to KFF Emails

Choose which emails are best for you.
Sign up here

View the Latest: Uninsured

Filter

List Grid

231 - 240 of 1,309 Results

  • Improving Access to Adult Primary Care in Medicaid: Exploring the Potential Role of Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants

    Issue Brief

    The inadequate supply of primary care providers is among the major challenges facing the U.S. health care system. Sixty-five million people live in areas designated by the federal government as having a shortage of primary care providers. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), the pressures on access are certain to grow as millions of newly insured people enter the health care system. By 2020, the U.S. will face an estimated shortage of…

  • New Publications Examine SCHIP Experience; Trends in Access to Medicaid and SCHIP Coverage

    Fact Sheet

    Maintaining and expanding health coverage for children and parents will likely be in the forefront of health care policy debates in Washington and state capitols in 2007. With states generally in better financial shape since the fiscal crisis earlier in the decade, many have expressed interest in improving access to their Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP). A new 50-state survey shows that one-third of states (17) increased access to health coverage in…

  • Healthy San Francisco

    Fact Sheet

    In 2007, San Francisco became the first city in the nation to begin implementation of a plan to provide health care services to all uninsured residents. Healthy San Francisco is not health insurance, but rather it provides access to affordable basic and ongoing health care services for uninsured residents. The program provides medical homes to uninsured adults and focuses on prevention and the management of chronic conditions. Fact Sheet (.pdf)

  • Approaches to Covering the Uninsured: A Guide

    Issue Brief

    The guide explains the key strategies for expanding coverage to the nation's 45 million uninsured people and explains and how different policy options can be combined to form comprehensive reform proposals. It organizes the various policy strategies under four overall approaches: strengthening current coverage arrangements, improving the affordability of coverage, improving the availability of coverage and changing the tax treatment and financing of health insurance. Guide (.pdf)

  • Key Findings: Kaiser Health Tracking Poll? – June 2009

    Poll Finding

    This document contains the key findings from the June Health Tracking Poll. The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted June 1 through June 8, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,205 adults ages 18 and older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (804) and cell phone (401, including 157 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish. The margin…

  • Chartpack: Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — August 2009

    Poll Finding

    This document contains the chartpack from the August Health Tracking Poll. The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted August 4 through August 11, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,203 adults ages 18 and older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (801) and cell phone (402, including 123 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish. The margin of…

  • Toplines: Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — August 2009

    Poll Finding

    This document contains the toplines from the August Health Tracking Poll. The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted August 4 through August 11, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,203 adults ages 18 and older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (801) and cell phone (402, including 123 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish. The margin of…

  • Pulling it Together: When Premiums Go Up 39%

    Perspective

    Our group that works on health care cost issues just updated an analysis that sheds light on what’s really happening to people in the individual health insurance market, the issue Secretary Sebelius, a former Kansas insurance commissioner, and others have put in the spotlight by calling on Anthem and other insurance companies to account for their proposed high premium increases. The analysis shows that people buying health insurance on their own in the individual market…

  • Affordable Care Act Provisions Relating to the Care of Dually Eligible Medicare and Medicaid Beneficiaries

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief identifies the major provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that are designed to improve care and streamline service delivery for dual eligibles, the millions of low-income seniors and younger persons with disabilities who are enrolled in both the Medicaid and Medicare programs. Dual eligibles are among the sickest and poorest individuals covered by either the Medicaid or Medicare programs; they comprise only 15 percent of total Medicaid enrollment…

  • April 2009 Health Tracking Poll

    Poll Finding

    The April Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that six in ten Americans continues to say that they or a member of their household have delayed or skipped health care in the past year. A solid majority of the public believes health care reform is more important than ever because of current economic problems. The country’s overall economic problems have not dampened their interest in pursuing health care reform: a solid majority of the public (59%)…