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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 >>

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  • Keeping Medicare and Medicaid When You Work, 2005: A Resource Guide for People with Disabilities, Their Families, and Their Advocates

    Report

    This guide helps to explain the program rules for Medicare and Medicaid with regard to work. Medicare and Medicaid have come to play important roles in the lives and the futures of roughly 20 million children, adults, and seniors with disabilities - and this guide gives people with disabilities new information to help them get the most from these programs. Full PDF Report Section 1: Protecting Health Coverage For People With Disabilities Who Work HTML…

  • Navigating Medicare and Medicaid: A Resource Guide for People with Disabilities, Their Families, and Their Advocates

    Report

    Navigating Medicare and Medicaid: Resource Guides for People with Disabilities, Their Families, and Their Advocates These guides explain the critical role Medicare and Medicaid have come to play in the lives and the futures of roughly 20 million children, adults, and seniors with disabilities - and give people with disabilities new information to help them get the most from these programs. Navigating Medicare and Medicaid, 2005 Keeping Medicare and Medicaid When You Work, 2005

  • Navigating Medicare and Medicaid, 2005: A Resource Guide for People with Disabilities, Their Families, and Their Advocates

    Report

    This guide explains the critical role Medicare and Medicaid have come to play in the lives and the futures of roughly 20 million children, adults, and seniors with disabilities - and gives people with disabilities new information to help them get the most from these programs. Full PDF Report (.pdf) Section 1: Introduction HTML PDF Section 2: Medicare HTML PDF Section 3: Medicaid HTML PDF Section 4: Interaction Between Medicare and Medicaid HTML PDF

  • Health Care Agenda for the New Congress

    Poll Finding

    This survey captures the public's attitudes regarding the health care agenda for Bush's second term and the new Congress in 2005. It assesses the relative priority placed on health-care concerns by the American public and also provides insight into public opinion on key issues likely to face the new Congress, such as implementing the Medicare drug law, controlling health care costs, reducing the nation’s uninsured population and reforming the malpractice litigation system. This survey of…

  • Online Tools for Consumer-Directed Health Plans

    Event Date:
    Event

    On Jan. 25, 2005, Kaiser Family Foundation hosted a demonstration of the online tools made available to enrollees in consumer-directed health plans. Executives from Humana and Lumenos -- two major firms in the consumer-directed care market -- conducted real-time demonstrations of their consumer web tools to show how enrollees might manage the costs and quality of their care. Consumer-directed, or consumer-driven, health plans are intended to give enrollees a financial stake in their health care…

  • Health Care Agenda for the New Congress – Chartpack

    Poll Finding

    This chartpack provides key findings from the survey of the public's attitudes regarding the health care agenda for Bush's second term and the new Congress in 2005. It assesses the relative priority placed on health-care concerns by the American public and also provides insight into public opinion on key issues likely to face the new Congress, such as implementing the Medicare drug law, controlling health care costs, reducing the nation’s uninsured population and reforming the…

  • Health Care Agenda for the New Congress – Toplines

    Poll Finding

    This document includes the complete toplines from a survey of the public's attitudes regarding the health care agenda for Bush's second term and the new Congress in 2005. It assesses the relative priority placed on health-care concerns by the American public and also provides insight into public opinion on key issues likely to face the new Congress, such as implementing the Medicare drug law, controlling health care costs, reducing the nation’s uninsured population and reforming…

  • Health Insurance Coverage in America:  2003 Data Update

    Report

    Health Insurance Coverage in America: 2003 Data Update This chartbook provides 2003 data on health insurance coverage, with special attention to the uninsured. It includes trends and major shifts in coverage and a profile of the uninsured population. Chartbook (.pdf)

  • 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…