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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.

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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  • Children’s Health Coverage: Medicaid, CHIP, and Next Steps

    Event Date:
    Event

    The Alliance for Health Reform and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation co-sponsored this briefing to examine the factors which influence children's coverage. Questions addressed include:What are the trends in private sector coverage? How well are the enrollment simplification and outreach tools that are included in this year’s CHIP reauthorization helping to reach those children who are eligible but unenrolled? How much does a child’s coverage depend on where he or she lives? For more information,…

  • 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…

  • Using Data and Technology to Drive Process Improvement in Medicaid and CHIP: Lessons From South Carolina

    Fact Sheet

    In the past year, there has been a notable trend of states increasingly utilizing data and technology to modernize, streamline, and gain efficiencies in their Medicaid and CHIP programs. The expanded use of data and technology is not only helping states deal with current budget pressures and decreased administrative resources, but also lays important groundwork for the coverage expansions and new coordinated, streamlined, and technology-driven enrollment process that will go into effect in 2014 under…

  • Medicaid and Managed Care: Implications for Low-income Women

    Report

    This commentary reviews Medicaid's role for low-income women and examines the implications Medicaid managed care on the delivery of health services to this vulnerable population. Today 40% of the Medicaid population, mostly poor women and their children, is enrolled in managed care. Medicaid agencies are hoping managed care will control spending and address longstanding problems with access to care. Low-income women have a number of characteristics that make them doubly vulnerable to have trouble accessing…

  • Implementation of Managed Care Consumer Protections in Missouri, New Jersey, Texas & Vermont

    Report

    This study goes beyond the legislative debates over expanded patients' rights to explore how managed care consumer protections have actually been implemented in four states (Missouri, New Jersey, Texas & Vermont) all of which have been active in this area. The study describes the details of the reforms, the issues that have arisen in implementation, and the lessons for policymakers from the experiences of these states. An Overview/Executive summary of the full report is also…

  • Immigrants’ Health Coverage and Access

    Report

    New and recent publications on immigrant health policy explore some of the complex problems the country faces in expanding health coverage to immigrants and provide basic statistics and facts on the current status of their health care. News Release: Recent Immigrants Have Had Little Impact on the Growth in America's Uninsured Population Issue Paper: Is Immigration Responsible for the Growth in the Number of the Uninsured? Fact Sheet: Immigrants' Health Care Coverage and Access Chart…

  • Health Care in New Orleans: Before and After Katrina

    Event Date:
    Event

    Kaiser Executive Vice President Diane Rowland testified before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations examining the continuing concerns and immediate needs in health care for New Orleans. Testimony (.pdf)

  • Fact Sheets Summarize President’s Budget Proposals for Health Insurance Coverage, Including Medicaid and SCHIP

    Fact Sheet

    Fact Sheets Summarize President's Budget Proposals for Health Insurance Coverage, Including Medicaid and SCHIP The President's fiscal year 2008 budget proposal includes changes to Medicaid, provisions for the reauthorization of SCHIP, and the health coverage initiative, Affordable Choices. These fact sheets provide an overview of President Bush's policy plans on these health coverage issues. The Affordable Choices Initiative: An Overview President's FY2008 Budget and The State Children's Health Insurance Program President's FY 2008 Budget and…

  • Medicaid’s Role for Black Americans

    Fact Sheet

    This fact sheet examines Medicaid's role for black Americans. It includes data on Medicaid's coverage of black Americans and the program's impact on their access to care, as well as the impacts of the recent recession and the coming expansion of Medicaid under health reform on enrollment in Medicaid among black Americans. The fact sheet also has a chart showing state-by-state data on health insurance coverage of black Americans. Fact Sheet (.pdf)