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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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  • Getting Behind the Numbers on Access to Care – Toplines/Survey

    Other Post

    Getting Behind the Numbers on Access to Care Project Randomly-Selected Verbatim Responses Harvard School of Public Health, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago October 1996 Methodology Note: Survey respondents who reported that they were uninsured and/or had problems getting needed medical care or paying medical bills in the past year were asked the following question during their interview: I would like you to tell me in your…

  • Kaiser Family Foundation/Field Institute Survey of Californians on the Health Care Initiatives, Propositions 214 and 216 – Toplines/Survey

    Other Post

    Kaiser Family Foundation/Field Institute survey of Californians on the Health Care Initiatives, Propositions 214 and 216 August 14-21, 1996 September 23-30, 1996 Questionnaire and Toplines 1. Are you currently covered by medical insurance or some other form of government or private health plan that will pay all or part of your doctor bills or hospitalization should you require it? August 1996 September 1996 Yes, covered 81% 82% No, not covered 19% 18% Don't know *…

  • National Survey on Medicare: The Next Big Health Policy Debate?

    Report

    A survey of Americans on their knowledge and opinions about the proposed options for Medicare reform finds that most Americans know Medicare faces problems, but are not ready to make hard choices and are not well informed on the options, including Medicare+Choice. The Kaiser/Harvard National Survey on Medicare is a product of the Kaiser-Harvard Program on the Public and Health/Social Policy, which regularly conducts surveys on health and other national issues. It was designed and…

  • Solvency or Affordability?  Ways to Measure Medicare’s Financial Health

    Report

    Solvency or Affordability? Ways to Measure Medicare's Financial Health This report examines different ways of measuring Medicare s financial health and considers their implications for the future of the program and the people it serves. Using an alternative measure of Medicare's long-term affordability that focuses on workers' capacity to absorb additional costs over time, the analysis concludes that the nation could afford to pay more for Medicare in the future without imposing an undue burden…

  • Pulling It Together: What Do We Want Health Insurance To Be?

    Perspective

    Trends in the health insurance marketplace show substantial growth in high deductible health plans, especially among smaller firms, where 35% of workers are now covered by plans with a deductible of $1,000 or more. That's according to our recently released employer health benefits survey, which we have been conducting now for ten years. The majority of these plans are simply high deductible health plans; only a minority are so-called "consumer driven" plans with savings accounts.…

  • 2008 Election Briefs

    Poll Finding

    Health care remains among the top three election issues voters want to hear the presidential candidates discuss. Kaiser's new series of election briefs frame the challenges the heath care system faces, provide basic facts, and offer questions to assess the presidential candidates' plans on key health policy issues. Check back for more issue briefs.  Eliminating Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health Care: What are the Options  Health Care Costs and Election 2008  Women's Health and Election 2008…

  • Community Health Centers in an Era of Health System Reform and Economic Downturn: Prospects and Challenges

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief reviews the role of community health centers in the nation's health care safety net. The centers provided comprehensive primary care to 16.1 million patients in 2007, many of them from lower-income families and medically underserved communities. The role of the centers is even more critical during an economic recession when families are more vulnerable to economic loss and unmet health needs. Issue Brief (.pdf)

  • How Will The Uninsured Be Affected By Health Reform?

    Issue Brief

    This brief examines who the uninsured are and explores how they could be affected by health reform, including estimates of how many might qualify for coverage under a Medicaid expansion, how many would be eligible for subsidies and how many would not be eligible for such help. Issue Brief (.pdf)

  • Toplines: Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — September 2009

    Poll Finding

    This document contains the toplines from the September Health Tracking Poll. The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted September 11 through September 18, 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 147 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish. The margin of…

  • Toplines: Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — December 2009

    Poll Finding

    This document contains the toplines from the December Health Tracking Poll. The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted December 7 through December 13, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,204 adults ages 18 and older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (801) and cell phone (403, including 111 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish. The margin of…