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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 >>

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  • Choices Under the New State Child Health Insurance Program: What Factors Shape Cost and Coverage? – Policy Brief

    Issue Brief

    Choices Under The New State Child Health Insurance Program: What Factors Shape Cost And Coverage? January 1998 The State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), enacted as part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, provides over $20 billion in federal funds over five years to cover low-income uninsured children. This program gives states considerable flexibility in designing expanded health insurance coverage for children. The way states design their programs -- use of Medicaid or a…

  • CHIP TIPS: CHIP Financing Structure

    Issue Brief

    This brief, the fourth in a series, examines important changes to CHIP’s financing structure under the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. The law includes a number of important programmatic and financing changes that affect both Medicaid and CHIP. Among the most important changes include significant new funding for the CHIP program, changes in the formula for distributing CHIP funds among states and a new option for states to decide whether to use…

  • Matching Health Benefit Packages to Health Needs: Key Issues To Consider In Health Reform

    Event Date:
    Event

    Three reports and a video collectively examine the range of health care needs and costs that people face today against the backdrop of the scope of health coverage that may be available to them under health reform. Children and Health Care Reform: Assuring Coverage That Meets Their Health Care Needs and Individuals With Special Needs and Health Reform: Adequacy of Health Insurance Coverage examine the needs of children and adults, respectively, focusing on those with…

  • Pulling it Together: A Holiday Reminder on the Economy and Health Care

    Perspective

    With so much of the focus on the political dynamics of the health reform debate and a few hot button issues, I wonder if we have lost track of what propelled health care to the top domestic issue in the first place—people’s concerns about paying for health care in the middle of a deep recession. This gave health greater traction as a national issue and brought us our best chance at national health reform legislation…

  • 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…

  • Covering the Uninsured:  Growing Need, Strained Resources

    Fact Sheet

    Covering the Uninsured: Growing Need, Strained Resources This summary of key findings provides an overview of studies examining trends in health coverage and federal spending on the health care safety net. Fact Sheet (.pdf)

  • Medicaid and SCHIP Eligibility for Immigrants

    Fact Sheet

    Immigrants in the U.S. face increasing challenges securing health care coverage. They have less access to employer-sponsored insurance than native citizens and face tighter restrictions on their eligibility for Medicaid and SCHIP, the nation’s major public health coverage programs for low-income children and families. This fact sheet provides an overview of the current rules on immigrants' eligibility for Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Fact Sheet (.pdf)

  • The Uninsured in Rural America (Update)

    Fact Sheet

    The Uninsured in Rural America Summarizes the number of uninsured individuals in rural America, who they are, and the barriers to coverage they experience. Fact Sheet (.pdf)

  • Useful Resources as the New U.S. Census Numbers on Health Coverage are Released

    Other Post

    With the U.S. Census Bureau releasing its annual update on health insurance coverage and the number of uninsured Americans shortly, Kaiser Family Foundation resources may be helpful. The Foundation and its largest program area, the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, produce several informational resources that analyze America's health insurance coverage, as well as the policy issues and public opinion regarding the uninsured. The Cost of Not Covering the Uninsured Project is an ongoing…

  • SCHIP Enrollment in 50 States: June 2005 Data Update

    Report

    This report finds that monthly SCHIP enrollment reached a record high of more than 4 million in June 2005, reversing the decline seen in the previous 12 month period. SCHIP enrollment rose in all but nine states, including large increase in California, Georgia, and Illinois. Report (.pdf)