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Uninsured

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.

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 >>

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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  • Five Basic Facts on Immigrants and Their Health Care

    Issue Brief

    As discussions on national health care reform move to the forefront, some have focused on the role of immigrants in the health care system, including their impact on the nation’s uninsured problem, their participation in public health coverage programs, and their use of hospital emergency rooms. To address questions about how immigrants use and affect the health care system, this brief draws on available research and data to highlight five key facts about immigrants’ health…

  • Key Findings: Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — April 2009

    Poll Finding

    This document contains the key findings from the April Health Tracking Poll. The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted April 2 through April 8, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,203 adults ages 18 and older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (902) and cell phone (301, including 98 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish. The margin…

  • Key Findings: Kaiser Health Tracking Poll? – June 2009

    Poll Finding

    This document contains the key findings from the June Health Tracking Poll. The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted June 1 through June 8, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,205 adults ages 18 and older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (804) and cell phone (401, including 157 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish. The margin…

  • Explaining Health Care Reform: Questions About the Extension of Dependent Coverage to Age 26

    Issue Brief

    The new health reform law requires private health insurers that offer dependent coverage to children to allow young adults up to age 26 to remain on their parent's insurance plan. This provision is among the first in the reform law to take effect, and it increases the availability of insurance to a population that currently has a high uninsured rate. This short summary answers basic questions about the dependent coverage expansion and explains how the…

  • Ensuring Access to Care in Medicaid Under Health Reform

    Issue Brief

    This paper examines the key issues raised in a December 2010 roundtable discussion of federal and state officials and experts convened by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured to examine important issues related to ensuring access to care in Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA expands Medicaid to reach millions of low-income uninsured Americans and, recognizing current serious access problems system-wide, takes significant steps to build capacity…

  • Pulling it Together: A Holiday Reminder on the Economy and Health Care

    Perspective

    With so much of the focus on the political dynamics of the health reform debate and a few hot button issues, I wonder if we have lost track of what propelled health care to the top domestic issue in the first place—people’s concerns about paying for health care in the middle of a deep recession. This gave health greater traction as a national issue and brought us our best chance at national health reform legislation…

  • Health Care in New Orleans from the People’s Perspective

    Event

    Diane Rowland, executive vice president of Kaiser, testified to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation about the health care needs of New Orleans' residents and their access to health services in the area. Her testimony was a part of the hearing, "Post-Katrina Health Care in the New Orleans Region: Progress and Continuing Concerns, Part II." Testimony (.pdf)

  • 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…

  • Putting Men’s Health Care Disparities on the Map: Examining Racial and Ethnic Disparities at the State Level

    Report

    This Kaiser Family Foundation report finds that men of color in almost every state continue to fare worse than white men on a variety of measures of health, health care access and other social determinants of health. It documents the persistence of such disparities between white men and men of color -- and among different groups within men of color -- on 22 indicators of health and well-being, including rates of diseases such as AIDS,…

  • Health Care and the 2004 Elections

    Other Post

    ** Update: For information on health care and the 2008 election, visit www.health08.org. ** Health care issues continue to be important for many Americans and a vital part of the policy debates in Washington and around the country. During an election season, candidates propose and debate their solutions for the pressing policy issues facing their constituents. The 2004 election season is no different and the Kaiser Family Foundation is issuing informational materials on some of…