Home Uninsured Topics

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 >>

Data and analysis

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.

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 tax credits that would make ACA coverage affordable to them.

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
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

741 - 750 of 1,309 Results

  • NPR/Kaiser/Harvard Survey: The Public on Requiring Individuals to Have Health Insurance – Toplines

    Poll Finding

    These toplines present detailed survey results from a February 2008 survey conducted jointly by NPR and public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health that examines how the public views different approaches for expanding health coverage, including provisions that would require individuals to purchase insurance or parents to obtain coverage for their children. A nationally representative sample of 1,704 adults participated in telephone interviews from Feb. 14-24, 2008.…

  • Uninsured Are Less Satisfied

    Perspective

    Given that people without health insurance have no protection from health care costs, it is not surprising that they are much less likely to say they are satisfied with costs than those with insurance (31 percent vs. 68 percent Majorities of both the uninsured and insured report being satisfied with the quality of care they receive, but the differences are still striking. Six in ten of the uninsured say they are satisfied with their quality…

  • Rates of Uninsured Women, by State

    Feature

    Rates of Uninsured Women, by State Download Source State-level figures based on Urban Institute and Kaiser Family Foundation estimates of pooled 2012 and 2013 Current Population Surveys, U.S. Bureau of the Census.   

  • Data Note: California’s Young Uninsured – A Look at 19- to 34-Year Olds Pre-ACA Rollout

    Poll Finding

    A Data Note based on the Kaiser Family Foundation California Uninsured Baseline Survey In California, as across the United States, the young uninsured are a key piece of the new Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace puzzle. Having a good-sized component of young people, with their generally more robust health and less frequent need for medical care and prescription drugs, in the newly created insurance pools would provide an important counterbalance to the incoming group of…

  • New Report Provides State-Level Data on Coverage Gains and Costs of the Medicaid Expansion in Health Reform

    News Release

    Analysis Projects Steep Decreases in Uninsured, With Federal Government Covering Vast Majority of CostsWASHINGTON -- The expansion of Medicaid under the new health reform law will significantly increase the number of people covered by the program and markedly reduce the uninsured in states across the country, with the federal government picking up the overwhelming majority of the cost, according to a state-by-state analysis released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU).…

  • With More than Half of Medicaid Enrollees Awaiting their Renewal Process, New Report Highlights Lessons Learned that Can Inform State Efforts and Reduce Disenrollments for “Procedural” Reasons

    News Release

    At the beginning of 2024, nine months into states’ efforts to unwind the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision and reverify enrollees’ eligibility, states have completed renewals for less than half of all enrollees. To gain a better understanding of what challenges states are facing and the effects of different unwinding strategies, KFF interviewed state Medicaid officials in Arizona, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, as well as others involved, including representatives from Medicaid, managed care plans, legal aid organizations,…

  • COVID-19 Vaccine Access for Uninsured Adults this Fall

    Policy Watch

    This policy watch provides an overview of how uninsured adults currently access recommended vaccines, how they have accessed COVID-19 vaccines thus far, including what is known about their vaccine uptake, and proposed plans to provide COVID-19 vaccines to uninsured adults this fall and beyond.