Key Facts about the Uninsured Population Authors: Jennifer Tolbert , Sammy Cervantes , Clea Bell , and Anthony Damico Published: June 16, 2026

https://www.kff.org/uninsured/key-facts-about-the-uninsured-population/ The high cost of private insurance and limited availability of public coverage for some individuals with low income—particularly in states that have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—continued to leave millions of people without health coverage in 2024. Our fragmented and complex health insurance system also means some people fall through the cracks of coverage when they experience a change in circumstances. The end of continuous enrollment in Medicaid also affected health coverage trends in 2024. Starting in April 2023, states resumed disenrolling Medicaid enrollees, a process known as Medicaid unwinding, after a period of continuous enrollment during the pandemic. Nearly all states had completed renewals to verify eligibility for the program for all enrollees by the end of 2024, leading to the disenrollment of millions of Medicaid enrollees. Most individuals losing Medicaid do not have access to affordable job-based coverage, and while many transitioned to subsidized coverage through the Marketplace, even with enhanced Marketplace subsidies still in place during 2024, coverage was unaffordable for some. These coverage transitions and losses contributed to the first increase in the uninsured rate since 2019.