Home Uninsured Topics

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 >>

Latest News

More KFF Health News

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on the Uninsured

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on the Uninsured

View the Latest: Uninsured

Filter

List Grid

601 - 610 of 1,310 Results

  • The COBRA Subsidy and Health Insurance for the Unemployed

    Issue Brief

    With the nation's unemployment rate rising to its highest levels in decades as a result of the recession, many families have lost their employer-sponsored health coverage or are at risk of doing so. In an effort to help people maintain coverage after a layoff, the stimulus legislation known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides temporary subsidies to some workers so that they can maintain their previous employer-sponsored coverage through COBRA after…

  • Medicaid and CHIP Health Reform Implementation Timeline

    Issue Brief

    This timeline highlights the implementation dates for provisions in the new health reform law that are related to Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. While major expansions of Medicaid are set to occur in 2014, many other key provisions in the health reform law become effective between 2010 and 2014. Timeline (.pdf)

  • Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program Provisions in the New Health Reform Law

    Issue Brief

    This brief compares the Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program provisions in the new health reform law with pre-reform law governing those programs. The analysis focuses on Medicaid coverage and financing changes; how Medicaid and CHIP will interface with a new health insurance exchange and other Medicaid benefits and access changes. Overall, the new law includes an individual requirement to obtain health insurance, a significant Medicaid expansion and subsidies to help low-income individuals buy coverage…

  • Pulling It Together: Implementation Is Forever

    Perspective

    Now that historic health reform legislation is law, everyone is rightfully focused on implementation. There are two very different ways to look at implementation. One is the more legalistic worm's eye view, which sees implementation largely as the process of putting into effect what was written in the law. In the worm's eye view implementation proceeds in a linear fashion from legislation, to regulations specifying what the statute calls for in greater detail, to operations…

  • Explaining Health Care Reform: Questions About Health Insurance Exchanges

    Issue Brief

    The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), signed into law in March 2010, made broad changes to the way health insurance will be provided and paid for in the United States. PPACA created a new mechanism for purchasing coverage called Exchanges, which are entities that will be set up in states to create a more organized and competitive market for health insurance by offering a choice of health plans, establishing common rules regarding the…

  • Medicaid Beneficiaries and Access to Care

    Fact Sheet

    The health reform law relies on a large expansion of Medicaid to reach many low-income uninsured people, many of them adults. This fact sheet summarizes Medicaid beneficiaries' experience in obtaining access to care, a subject that is of keen interest in view of the planned expansion of the program. Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program have substantially increased coverage among low-income Americans, especially children. Research shows that Medicaid compares favorably with private coverage in…

  • Health and the Economy in the Detroit Area

    Poll Finding

    One year after the federal government intervened to aid the automakers, the Foundation along with The Washington Post and Harvard School of Public Health surveyed the residents of the tri-county Detroit area of Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne Counties to ask about their views and experiences in the midst of the area’s economic meltdown. Using data from the comprehensive survey and other publicly available information, this data note provides an overview of the current economic and…

  • Aging Out of Medicaid: What is the Risk of Becoming Uninsured?

    Issue Brief

    This policy brief uses the most recent available data to examine the patterns of health coverage for young adults after they turn 19 and typically are no longer eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Medicaid is a key source of coverage for children in the U.S., providing insurance to about 29 million at some point during the year. After turning 19, however, in many cases they lose their eligibility for Medicaid…

  • Assessing the Risk of Becoming Uninsured After Leaving a Job: A Look at the Data

    Fact Sheet

    This fact sheet examines the impact of unemployment on health insurance coverage by using data from 2004 to 2007 (before the current recession) to assess the increased risk of becoming uninsured among those who are no longer employed. It finds that more than one-third of individuals who stopped working and left a job that previously provided them with employer-sponsored health insurance became uninsured for six consecutive months or more after leaving their job. By comparison,…

  • CHIP TIPS: Children’s Oral Health Benefits

    Issue Brief

    This brief examines a new requirement under the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 that state CHIP programs cover comprehensive dental benefits. The reauthorization law also allows states with separate CHIP programs to offer a dental-only plan for children who have other health insurance but lack adequate dental benefits. Other oral health improvements in the law include education for new parents, better access to benefit and provider information and enhanced reporting on the…