Home Uninsured Topics

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
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

781-790 of 1,312 results

  • Pulling It Together: Perspectives on State Health Reform

    Perspective

    This Pulling It Together column is the fourth in my new series. All four so far have dealt with different dimensions of health reform. This time I write about one of my favorite topics, the states. As a former head of an umbrella health and social services agency in a big state responsible for about a third of a state budget and workforce, I have a deep appreciation for state government. It's a level of…

  • Uninsured Young Adults: A Profile and Overview of Coverage Options

    Issue Brief

    Young adults, age 19-29, have the highest uninsured rate of any age group. Since 29% of the uninsured are young adults, efforts to decrease the overall number of uninsured must address this population. This brief examines health coverage for young adults, as well as their health status, access to care, and the financial burdens they encounter when paying for care. It also provides an overview of public and private approaches to expand health coverage for…

  • Healthy Indiana Plan: Key Facts and Issues

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief provides an overview of Indiana's new Medicaid waiver program, the Healthy Indiana Plan, which is the first that allows a state to use Medicaid funds to provide a benefit package modeled after a high-deductible plan and health savings account to previously uninsured adults. This piece examines key components of the plan and identifies key issues to consider. Executive Summary (.pdf) Issue Brief (.pdf)

  • Testimony: State-Based Health Reform Efforts

    Event

    On June 16, 2008, Kaiser Family Foundation Vice President Gary Claxton testified about state-based health reform efforts as part of the Senate Finance Committee's Preparing For Launch Health Reform Summit. In his prepared testimony, he examined the role of Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program, as well as the way various federal laws and policies may limit innovation at the state level. Testimony (.pdf)

  • Pulling It Together: Health IN the Economy

    Perspective

    I am writing this Pulling It Together column about this one chart and its potential interpretations and implications. Source: Key Findings: Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Election 2008 -- April 2008, Kaiser Family Foundation, April 2008. This chart from our most recent tracking poll shows the economy rising as a political issue and health care falling, with Iraq in the middle. Findings from other polling groups will show the same thing for as long as the economy…

  • New Analysis Shows Effect of Rising Unemployment on Health Coverage, Medicaid and SCHIP Spending and Enrollment

    Event

    As the country faces another economic downturn, many states are scrambling to deal with the impact of poor economic conditions on programs, like Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), that are reliant on state funding. To be better able to cope, states are looking for fiscal relief from the federal government as well as obtaining a moratorium on federal regulations that would reduce Medicaid funding for states from the Congress. New analyses…

  • Medicaid in a Declining Economy:  Limited Approaches for States to Control Spending

    Issue Brief

    Medicaid in a Declining Economy: Limited Approaches for States to Control Spending This brief analyzes results from its annual 50-state budget surveys of Medicaid directors from 2003 to 2007. The historical results describe how states adopted a wide array of Medicaid cost containment strategies during the last economic downturn and were assisted by the federal government to avoid deeper Medicaid cuts. Issue Brief (.pdf) See related material on this issue

  • Medicaid, SCHIP and Economic Downturn: Policy Challenges and Policy Responses

    Report

    Medicaid, SCHIP and Economic Downturn: Policy Challenges and Policy Responses A new analysis conducted for the Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured examines the implications of a downturn for health coverage and state programs and projects the impact of one percentage point rise in the national unemployment rate on Medicaid and SCHIP and the number of uninsured individuals. The analysis also documents how federal fiscal relief during the last economic downturn of…

  • Health Care Affordability and the Uninsured

    Event

    Diane Rowland testified at a hearing on the instability of health coverage before the Health Subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means. Her testimony discussed the growing share of Americans who are uninsured and without adequate health insurance coverage and highlighted the key characteristics and issues with regard to the uninsured as well as the financial burdens for medical care faced by America's families. Testimony (.pdf)

  • Health Affairs Article: Comparing the Assets of Uninsured Households to Cost Sharing Under High Deductible Health Plans

    Issue Brief

    Health Affairs Article: Comparing the Assets of Uninsured Households to Cost Sharing Under High Deductible Health Plans Relatively few uninsured households have enough financial assets to cover the cost-sharing in consumer-driven health plans tied to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), according to this study by Kaiser Family Foundation researchers published as a Health Affairs Web Exclusive on April 15, 2008. Consumer-driven plans generally require enrollees to pay for most health-care expenses themselves until they reach the plan’s relatively high…