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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.

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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  • Health Care and the 2004 Elections: the Uninsured

    Issue Brief

    The Uninsured Download a printable .pdf of Health Care and the 2004 Elections: The Uninsured. IssueBackgroundOptions for Covering the Uninsured and the 2004 DebateAssessing Candidate PositionsIssue With nearly 45 million Americans under the age of 65 without health insurance – one in six Americans – addressing the uninsured population is a major issue in the upcoming election. Health insurance affects access to health care as well as the financial well-being of families. Thus, both the…

  • Health Challenges for the People of New Orleans

    Poll Finding

    Health Challenges for the People of New Orleans This analysis of a household survey of Greater New Orleans area residents conducted in Fall 2006 examines the health care status of the adult population and details their health coverage and access to health care services after the disaster. News Release Full Report (.pdf) Executive Summary (.pdf) Health Status (.pdf) Health Coverage and Access (.pdf) Households with Children (.pdf) Appendices (.pdf)

  • NPR/KFF/HSPH Survey: Public Views on SCHIP Reauthorization: Topline

    Poll Finding

    These toplines present detailed survey results from an October 2007 survey conducted jointly by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health on the public’s views and opinions of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and the pending legislation surrounding its reauthorization. Toplines (.pdf)

  • At Five Year Anniversary of the ACA, Gap Between Favorable and Unfavorable Views Among The Public Narrows to Smallest Spread in More Than Two Years

    News Release

    Most Expect Negative Consequences if Supreme Court Prohibits Subsidies in States Without Their Own Insurance Exchanges; Two Thirds of the Public and Those in Affected States Want Congress or Their State to Close Any Gaps As April 15 Tax Deadline Nears, Nearly Half Unaware Insurance Reporting Requirement Starts This Year Five years after President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, this month's Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds the closest split between favorable and unfavorable views…

  • What is Medicaid’s Impact on Access to Care, Health Outcomes, and Quality of Care? Setting the Record Straight on the Evidence

    Issue Brief

    Medicaid now covers more than 1 in every 5 Americans, and millions of uninsured individuals will become newly eligible for Medicaid under the ACA. Considering Medicaid’s large and growing coverage role, an evidence-based assessment of the program’s impact on access to care, health outcomes, and quality of care is of major interest. This brief takes a look at what the research literature shows regarding the difference Medicaid makes.

  • New Report Provides State-Level Data on Coverage Gains and Costs of the Medicaid Expansion in Health Reform

    News Release

    Analysis Projects Steep Decreases in Uninsured, With Federal Government Covering Vast Majority of CostsWASHINGTON -- The expansion of Medicaid under the new health reform law will significantly increase the number of people covered by the program and markedly reduce the uninsured in states across the country, with the federal government picking up the overwhelming majority of the cost, according to a state-by-state analysis released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU).…

  • COVID-19 Vaccine Access for Uninsured Adults this Fall

    Policy Watch

    This policy watch provides an overview of how uninsured adults currently access recommended vaccines, how they have accessed COVID-19 vaccines thus far, including what is known about their vaccine uptake, and proposed plans to provide COVID-19 vaccines to uninsured adults this fall and beyond.

  • Issue Brief Examines the Experiences of Five States During Year Two of Affordable Care Act Coverage Expansions

    News Release

    A new issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation draws upon 40 in-person interviews conducted with a variety of stakeholders to assess the recent experiences of five states during the second year of coverage expansions under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  The interviews took place in three states -- Colorado, Kentucky and Washington -- that have State-based Marketplaces, and have adopted the Medicaid expansion, and in two states -- Utah and Virginia -- that rely…

  • Amid the Coronavirus Crisis, President Trump and Democratic Nominee Joe Biden Offer Widely Different Views on Health Care

    News Release

    President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden hold widely divergent views on health issues, with the president’s record and response to the coronavirus pandemic likely to play a central role in November’s elections. A new KFF side-by-side comparison examines President Trump’s record and former Vice President Biden’s positions across a wide range of key health issues, including the response to the pandemic, the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicaid, Medicare, drug prices, reproductive health, HIV, mental…

  • Analysis Examines the Affordable Care Act’s Impact on Nearly All Americans

    News Release

    A week after the 2020 elections, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on a legal challenge, supported by the Trump administration, that seeks to overturn the Affordable Care Act, an outcome that would have major effects throughout the health care system as the law’s provisions have affected nearly all Americans in some way. A KFF analysis examines key provisions of the 2010 law that have changed the nation’s health care system, including what’s…