Uninsured

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

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651-660 of 1,312 results

  • 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)

  • Building an Express Lane Eligibility Initiative: A Roadmap of Key Decisions for States

    Issue Brief

    The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) provides states new options to reach and enroll the estimated 5 million eligible but uninsured low-income children into Medicaid and CHIP. One key tool provided to states by the law is Express Lane Eligibility (ELE), which allows state Medicaid and CHIP agencies to borrow and rely on eligibility findings from other need-based programs, such as Head Start and the National School Lunch Program, to determine…

  • National ADAP Monitoring Project, Annual Report, 2006

    Report

    The National ADAP Monitoring Report, 2006 provides the latest data on state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs). ADAPs, authorized under Title II of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, provide HIV/AIDS-related prescription drugs to uninsured and underinsured individuals living with HIV/AIDS. ADAPs operate in 57 U.S. states, territories and associated jurisdictions. The report, the tenth in an annual series, was prepared by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the National Alliance of State…

  • The Impact of Cost Sharing on Appropriate Utilization and Health Status: A Review of the Literature on Seniors

    Other Post

    The Impact of Cost-Sharing on Appropriate Utilization and Health Status: A Review of the Literature on Seniors This article provides a review of research that has addressed the impact of patient cost-sharing on the use of health care services and subsequent health status for those ages 65 and older. Twenty-two studies are reviewed -- 16 focusing on cost-sharing for prescription drugs and 6 on cost-sharing for medical services. The article concludes that most studies examined…

  • Who Pays and How Much? The Cost of Caring for the Uninsured

    Report

    This report answers how much the country spends on care for the uninsured and how much care the uninsured receive compared to insured Americans. It is part of our Cost of Not Covering the Uninsured project. Report

  • The New Middle-Class of Uninsured Americans — Is it Real?

    Report

    This issue paper discusses and answers the question are the newly uninsured in 2001 predominantly from the middle-class. The paper examines U.S. Census Bureau s data and concludes that most of the increase in the uninsured (1.3 million people) was among low-income people with incomes less than 200% of the poverty level. Issue Paper

  • How Race/Ethnicity, Immigration Status, and Language Affect Health Insurance Coverage, Access to and Quality of Care Among the Low-Income Population

    Report

    This report examines the roles that race, language and citizenship status play in insurance coverage, access to health care and quality of health care, particularly for the low-income Latino population. The findings demonstrates that citizenship status and language proficiency have a significant impact on insurance coverage, access to care and the quality of care received among the low-income population. Report (.pdf)

  • Access to Care for the Uninsured: An Update

    Report

    As the Census Bureau releases the latest data on health insurance coverage, prior research has shown that health insurance coverage improves access to care and health outcomes. New data from the Kaiser 2003 Health Insurance Survey updates what is known about barriers to access to health care. Chart Pack (.pdf)