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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  • Highlights of Kaiser Family Foundation Resources on the Uninsured

    Poll Finding

    With the upcoming U.S. Census Bureau release of 2007 health insurance coverage data, the Foundation has compiled some key resources about the nation’s uninsured population and related health policy issues. Key Resources Five Basic Facts on the Uninsured The Uninsured: A Primer Health Insurance Coverage in America Chartbook, 2006 States Moving Toward Comprehensive Health Care Reform – Interactive Map 2008 Presidential Candidate Health Care Proposals: Side-by-Side Summary Separating the Forest from the Trees in the…

  • Chartpack — The Public’s Health Care Agenda for the New President and Congress

    Poll Finding

    Chartpack -- The Public's Health Care Agenda for the New President and Congress This chartpack provides the key findings from the survey of the public's attitudes regarding the health care agenda for President Obama and the new Congress in 2009. It assesses the relative priority placed on health care by the American public as part of addressing the economic recession and as a large scale reform issue. The public's priorities for health care reform and…

  • Key Findings: Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — February 2009

    Poll Finding

    This document contains the key findings from the February 2009 Kaiser Health Tracking Poll. The survey was conducted February 3 through February 12, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,204 adults ages 18 and older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (903) and cell phone (301, including 123 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish. The margin of sampling error for the total sample is plus or minus 3…

  • CHIP TIPS: Medicaid Performance Bonus “5 of 8” Requirements

    Issue Brief

    This brief, the second in a series, examines the requirements that states must meet to be eligible for the new "performance bonus" available to states that do an especially good job of signing up eligible children for Medicaid. The bonus, created by a provision in the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, is designed to help states cover the added costs that result when states are very successful in enrolling eligible children in…

  • Pulling it Together: A Primer on Health in the Election

    Perspective

    There is a lot of talk in polling and political circles and some speculation in the media about the role of health reform in the midterm elections. We regularly measure what the public thinks about health reform and you see reports from our monthly tracking polls about that. But whether those opinions will translate into an impact on people’s votes in the upcoming election is an entirely different question. First, to understand what might happen in…

  • Medicaid’s Role for Hispanic Americans

    Fact Sheet

    This fact sheet examines Medicaid's role for Hispanic Americans. It includes data on Medicaid's coverage of Hispanic Americans and the program's impact on their access to care, as well as the impacts of the recent recession and the coming expansion of Medicaid under health reform on enrollment in Medicaid among Hispanic Americans. The fact sheet also has a chart showing state-by-state data on health insurance coverage of Hispanic Americans. Fact Sheet (.pdf)

  • Pulling It Together: Medicare, Medicaid, and The Multiplier Effect

    Perspective

    We are witnessing a battle in Washington right now about the future of health care’s two big public programs, Medicare and Medicaid. It’s a budget battle, it’s an ideological battle, it’s a partisan political battle, and while it might not always be obvious following the debate, it’s a high stakes battle for people. In 2011, over a hundred million low-income, disabled, and elderly beneficiaries will be served by the two programs. Many of the proposals…

  • Health Coverage and Access to Care for Hispanics in “New Growth Communities” and “Major Hispanic Centers”

    Report

    Health Coverage and Access to Care for Hispanics in "New Growth Communities" and "Major Hispanic Centers" A new report from the Foundation's Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured finds that as the Hispanic population grows and moves beyond urban centers, Hispanics in "new growth communities" face greater barriers to health care than those in cities considered "major Hispanic centers." By 2003, the uninsured rate for Hispanics in new growth communities rose to a level…