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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  • Which Path for Health-Care Politics in 2015?

    From Drew Altman

    This was published as a Wall Street Journal Think Tank column on January 6, 2015. Yogi Berra said that when you come to a fork in the road, take it. It will be that kind of year for health-care politics. The status quo is not an option. The key to which path the Affordable Care Act takes is how the Supreme Court rules in King v. Burwell, the case that concerns whether subsidies in the health law can be…

  • Early Impacts of the Medicaid Expansion for the Homeless Population

    Issue Brief

    This analysis provides an early look at the impact of the expansion for homeless providers and the patients they serve. It is based on focus groups conducted with administrators, providers, and enrollment workers at four sites serving homeless individuals in states that have expanded Medicaid (Albuquerque, NM; Baltimore, MD; Chicago, IL; and Portland, OR) and one site in a state that has not expanded (Jacksonville, FL), as well as administrative data collected from the sites.

  • Children’s Health Coverage – What You Need To Know

    Event Date:
    Event

    On Monday, July 14, 2014, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Alliance for Health Reform will host a briefing to discuss CHIP, and why it was created, as well as experiences with children’s coverage through CHIP and Medicaid, and some of the key policy and financing questions around children’s health coverage looking forward.

  • A Perilous Gap in Health Insurance Literacy

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses how progress in expanding coverage requires greater attention to the problem of health insurance literacy.

  • Kaiser Calculator Now Gives Consumers 2015 Zip Code-Specific Premium and Tax Credit Estimates for Marketplace Coverage

    News Release

    The Kaiser Family Foundation's Health Insurance Marketplace Calculator now includes zip code-specific data on 2015 health plans that are being sold through the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces during the open enrollment period beginning Saturday, Nov. 15. With the new tool, consumers around the nation can generate estimates of their health insurance premiums and government subsidies for 2015 plans that they purchase on their own through an ACA marketplace. The estimates are based on zip…

  • Amid Tensions, Legal Immigrants Fear Signing Up for Obamacare

    From Drew Altman

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses new Kaiser Family Foundation survey findings about how fear of enforcement of immigration laws may be affecting Latino enrollment in the Affordable Care Act.

  • The Potential Side Effects of Halbig

    Perspective

    The Halbig case, if it prevails, would have far-reaching side effects on the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate and the functioning of the individual insurance market.

  • Drew Altman: Amid Tensions, Legal Immigrants Fear Signing Up for Obamacare

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses new Kaiser Family Foundation survey findings about how fear of enforcement of immigration laws may be affecting Latino enrollment in the Affordable Care Act. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.