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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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  • Medicaid Expansion in Red States

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explains that Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam's decision on Medicaid expansion via the Affordable Care Act is the latest sign of pragmatism slowly winning over ideology in red states.

  • Variations in State Medicaid Buy-in Practices for Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries: A 1999 Update

    Report

    This report updates a 1997 Foundation report to assess how states are implementing financial protections for the 16 million Medicare beneficiaries who are low-income. These protections, generally referred to as "buy-in programs," help low-income Medicare beneficiaries meet Medicare's cost-sharing requirements by using state Medicaid programs to pay either all or some portion of premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance amounts. Using information collected through a survey of state Medicaid directors and consumer advocates, the update seeks to…

  • Medicaid and Children: Overcoming Barriers to Enrollment

    Report

    Findings from a National Survey This national telephone survey of low-income parents represents a major effort to better understand the barriers to Medicaid enrollment and to test the usefulness of ideas to facilitate enrollment in a quantitative way. Examining both parents of uninsured children who appear eligible for Medicaid and parents with children currently enrolled in Medicaid, the survey findings present: a profile of low-income, Medicaid-eligible children; parents' Medicaid knowledge and perceptions; key barriers to…

  • Statewide Surveys of Californians on Public Attitudes Toward the Single Payer Ballot Initiatives (Proposition 186)

    Other Post

    California Election Night Survey On Ballot Initiatives Anti-government Mood Defeats Proposition 186 A Perception That Undocumented Persons Use Costly Services Drives Vote For Proposition 187 Embargoed for release: 12:00 p.m. EST, Tuesday, November 15, 1994 For more information contact: Matt James or Tina Hoff Menlo Park, CA -- A Kaiser/Harvard survey of Californians in the 1994 election has found that the principal reason voters rejected Proposition 186, the state single payer initiative, was their concern…

  • Taking Stock and Taking Steps: A Report from the Field after the First Year of Marketplace Consumer Assistance under the ACA

    Report

    This report summarizes experiences of Marketplace assistance programs as they helped consumers enroll in coverage during the first Open Enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act. Insights about what worked and where improvements could help are drawn from discussions of assisters and other experts who participated in a Consumer Assistance Roundtable, jointly sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in June, 2014.

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: March 2015

    Feature

    As the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marks its fifth anniversary, this month’s poll finds the gap between favorable and unfavorable opinions of the law has narrowed to the closest margin in over two years. Although the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for the King v. Burwell case in early March, the majority of the public continues to say they have heard only a little or nothing at all about the case. The survey also includes…