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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501-510 of 1,314 results

  • The New Review and Approval Process Rule for Section 1115 Medicaid and CHIP Demonstration Waivers

    Fact Sheet

    For many years, Section 1115 waivers have been used in the Medicaid program to provide states an avenue to test and implement coverage approaches that do not meet federal program rules, but there have been longstanding concerns about the lack of public input and transparency in the waiver approval process. As a result, the Affordable Care Act required the Department of Health and Human Services to issue regulations designed to ensure that the public has…

  • Medicaid and Community Health Centers: The Relationship Between Coverage for Adults and Primary Care Capacity in Medically Underserved Communities

    Issue Brief

    Community health centers play an important role in providing care to uninsured and low-income individuals living in medically underserved communities. They rely on many different revenue sources and, over time, Medicaid has become a central source of funding for most health centers. To better understand how Medicaid influences health center practice, this paper compares the strength of health centers in states that have expanded Medicaid coverage for adults to health centers states with more limited…

  • Policy and Political Implications of the Supreme Court Case on the Affordable Care Act

    Event Date:
    Event

    This webcast features a Kaiser Family Foundation briefing held on March 14, 2012, examining the policy and political implications of the pending U.S. Supreme Court case on the Affordable Care Act (ACA). At the briefing, the Foundation released new polling data on the public’s views about the case as well as their more general views about the health reform law. Participants included: Kaiser President and CEO Drew Altman (moderator)Joe Onek, Principal, The Raben Group Sheila…

  • Quality Care for Less Money: Can Regional Successes Go National?

    Event Date:
    Event

    On February 15, the Kaiser Family Foundation hosted an event featuring a PBS documentary with former Washington Post correspondent T.R. Reid – U.S. Health Care: The Good News – which explores efforts to provide low-cost, quality health care in the U.S. The film looks at variations in health spending across the country and showcases efficient health care delivery systems, like Grand Junction in Colorado and Group Health in Seattle, suggesting that these communities demonstrate that…

  • Mapping the Effects of the ACA’s Health Insurance Coverage Expansions

    Interactive

    The Foundation originally released this interactive tool in February 2012.  More recent analysis of the Affordable Care Act's potential impact on each state's uninsured population can be accessed through this interactive tool and these individual state reports. The Affordable Care Act includes several provisions that allow many individuals across the U.S. to be eligible for Medicaid or for federal tax credits to subsidize the cost of insurance. The analysis below and zip code tool estimate…

  • Health Insurance Coverage in America, 2010

    Report

    Over 49 million people in the United States had no health insurance coverage in 2010—more than one in every six (18.5%) of the population under age 65. Having a clear picture of who the uninsured are is fundamental to addressing this nation-wide problem. This slideshow provides figures and tables on the uninsured and health insurance coverage for the following subpopulations: nonelderly, children, nonelderly adults and working adults. Figures are provided for important social, economic, and…

  • State Adoption of Coverage and Enrollment Options in The Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act of 2009

    Fact Sheet

    The Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) extended and expanded the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which was originally enacted in 1997. Together Medicaid and CHIP cover more than 32 million children, providing them access to needed care, including ongoing preventive and primary care that is key for children's health and development and financial protections for their families. CHIPRA added $33 billion in federal funds for children's coverage through 2013 and included provisions…

  • Key Issues to Consider for Outreach and Enrollment Efforts under Health Reform

    Issue Brief

    The Affordable Care Act will significantly expand health coverage opportunities through an expansion in Medicaid and the creation of new health insurance exchanges in 2014. Effective outreach and enrollment efforts will be vital for assuring the expansions translate into increased coverage. Based on a discussion with federal and state officials and experts, this report identifies key issues to consider with regard to outreach and enrollment under reform. The discussion was part of an ongoing series…

  • A Guide to the Supreme Court’s Review of the 2010 Health Care Reform Law

    Issue Brief

    With the Supreme Court preparing to hear oral arguments about challenges to the 2010 Affordable Care Act in March 2012, this Kaiser Family Foundation brief serves as a primer on the pending case, which challenges the constitutionality both of the law's individual mandate that requires most Americans to obtain health insurance and of provisions requiring states to expand eligibility for their Medicaid programs. The brief provides an overview of the pending case, the key constitutional…

  • Pulling it Together: 2012: The ACA, and More

    From Drew Altman

    What is remarkable about 2012 (and the current era in health policy) is how many big health policy issues and marketplace changes will be in play at the same time: HEALTH REFORM: There is the implementation of a historic but fragile health reform law, with a Supreme Court decision pending and so much hanging in the balance. MEDICARE AND MEDICAID: There are continuing debates about potentially big changes in Medicare and Medicaid, driven by the…