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.

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

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511 - 520 of 1,309 Results

  • 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…

  • National Survey of Small Businesses

    Report

    A survey finds that two-thirds of small employers say that they are dissatisfied with the cost of health care and health insurance, and about one-third of small businesses that now offer insurance say they are likely to increase the share of costs borne by employees in the next year. Survey Highlights and Chart Pack Toplines/Survey

  • Medicare Beneficiaries: A Population At Risk – Findings from the Kaiser/Commonwealth 1997 Survey of Medicare Beneficiaries – Report

    Report

    Medicare Beneficiaries: A Population at RiskFindings from the Kaiser/Commonwealth Fund 1997 Survey of Medicare Beneficiaries Cathy Schoen, Patricia Neuman, Michelle Kitchman, Karen Davis, and Diane RowlandDecember 1998 Table Of ContentsExecutive Summary Findings from the Kaiser/Commonwealth 1997 Survey of Medicare Beneficiaries Medicare Beneficiaries: Health Status and Income Health Insurance Coverage Satisfaction, Access, and Financial Burden: Variations by Income Prescription Drugs: Use and Cost Exposure Satisfaction, Access, and Financial Burden: Variations by Type of Insurance Coverage HMOs:…

  • Regulating the Quality of Abortion Services: Politics or Good Medicine?

    Report

    A growing trend by state legislatures to pass tough regulations on abortion services begs the questions: Do these rules help to ensure the health and safety of abortion patients and the quality of abortion services? Or, as some abortion rights groups have suggested, are they designed to put abortion providers out of business? National Committee for Quality Assurance Chief Executive Officer, Margaret O'Kane, National Abortion Federation Committee on Quality Improvement Chair, Dr. Bernard Smith, and…

  • Warning: Inadequate Low-Income Subsidy Design Can Cause Problems for Health Care Reform

    Other Post

    Warning: Inadequate Low-Income Subsidy Design Can Cause Problems for Health Care Reform This report examines potential adverse consequences of low-income subsidy systems contained in the leading health care reform approaches including: work disincentives as a result of high marginal taxrates; employer incentives to drop coverage; and loss of coverage due to budgetary control mechanisms. Note: This publication is no longer in circulation. However, a copy may still exist in the Foundation's internal library that could…

  • Quick Take: Timing Matters: States Waiting for a Supreme Court Decision to Plan an Exchange

    Fact Sheet

    State-based health insurance exchanges are an important component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) designed to extend subsidized private health insurance coverage to millions of Americans by 2014. Though projections show exchange enrollment could grow to 20 million individuals nationally, aggressive planning on the part of states will be necessary to meet implementation timelines—exchanges must be fully operational by January 1, 2014 and the Department of Health and Human Services will begin…

  • The Cost of Not Covering the Uninsured: Project Highlights

    Other Post

    The Cost of Not Covering the Uninsured: Project Highlights This brief summarizes the Cost of Not Covering the Uninsured Project's first three analyses and reports by Jack Hadley and John Holahan of The Urban Institute. It covers the consequences of being uninsured, how much the nation already spends on care for the uninsured, and the cost of new medical care spending if the uninsured were covered. Project Highlights

  • Education and Health Care Lead Issues on Voters’ Minds for 2000 Election

    Report

    The Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health National Survey on Health Care and the 2000 Elections is a survey of Americans' views on health related issues in the upcoming 2000 elections. Among leading findings, voters cited education and health as top issues on their minds for the upcoming 2000 elections. The survey was conducted by telephone between December 3-13, 1999. The survey included a national random sample of 1,515 adults, including 1,257 registered voters.…