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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
Other key facts about the uninsured >>

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  • A Look at the Private Option in Arkansas

    Issue Brief

    Based on stakeholder interviews and early data on coverage, reduced uncompensated care costs, and other topics, this issue brief provides an initial look at implementation of Arkansas' Section 1115 Medicaid expansion demonstration waiver to require most adults newly eligible for Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion to enroll in Marketplace plans.

  • The Burden of Medical Debt: Results from the Kaiser Family Foundation/New York Times Medical Bills Survey

    Report

    To date, there has been little research providing a quantitative look at the causes of medical bill problems and the impacts they have on people’s families, their finances, and their access to health care. To fill this gap, the Kaiser Family Foundation and The New York Times conducted an in-depth survey with 1,204 adults ages 18-64 who report that they or someone in their household had problems paying or an inability to pay medical bills…

  • Most Americans Report a Personal Connection to Those Who Have Abused Prescription Painkillers; Whites More Likely To Be Affected Than Blacks or Hispanics

    News Release

    Poll Finds 9% Say a Family Member or Close Friend Died of an Overdose; 27% Say Either They or Someone Close to Them Has Been Addicted On the ACA This Month, 45 Percent View the Law Unfavorably and 38 Percent View It Favorably With prescription painkiller abuse garnering more attention from the media and policymakers, the latest Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll finds most Americans have a personal connection to the issue. In total,…

  • Rising Unemployment and the Uninsured

    Fact Sheet

    A brief policy analysis (revised as of January 2002) examines the relationship between the unemployment rate and increases in the uninsured and finds that for every percentage point increase in the unemployment rate, 1.2 million people will become uninsured.

  • Advancing Opportunities, Assessing Challenges: Key Themes from a Roundtable Discussion of Health Care and Health Equity in the South

    Issue Brief

    This brief summarizes the primary themes expressed by participants of a roundtable discussion of current and future opportunities and challenges for advancing health care and health equity in the South organized by Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured and the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia.

  • Medicaid Expansion Waivers: What Will We Learn?

    Issue Brief

    Section 1115 waivers authorize research and demonstration projects that, in the view of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, further the purposes of the Medicaid program. The ACA implemented new requirements for these waivers, including that states must have a publicly available, approved evaluation strategy. This brief examines some of the major research questions and hypotheses relevant to the federal and state evaluations of Medicaid expansion Section 1115 waivers and explores key challenges that…

  • Visualizing Health Policy: Health Care Coverage and Access for Men, 2013-2015

    News Release

    This Visualizing Health Policy infographic provides a snapshot of men’s health care and insurance coverage issues, including health status, access to care and use of services. It compares the uninsured rates of men and women, their cost barriers to care, their connection to clinicians, and their use of prescription drugs, screening, and counseling services. Fewer men than women gained coverage between October 2013 and March 2015, and the uninsured rate continues to be higher for…

  • Challenges for the Next Obamacare Open Enrollment

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman pinpoints the Affordable Care Act’s five biggest challenges heading into the second open enrollment period.

  • Nine in Ten Uninsured Unaware that the Affordable Care Act’s Second Open Enrollment Period Starts in November

    News Release

    Most of Those Without Health Coverage Report Knowing Little or Nothing About the Insurance Marketplaces or About the Financial Assistance Available to Low- and Moderate-Income Families Broader Public Opinion on the Law Still Tilts Unfavorably, Though Gap Has Narrowed Since July and Returned to Pre-Rollout Levels With the second annual open enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act set to begin Nov. 15, the latest Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll finds major gaps in the…