Uninsured Americans: Key Statistics & Facts

In the US, healthcare is non-universal and extremely expensive. In fact, thousands of uninsured Americans go into debt every year to cover necessary medical expenses.

While the situation has improved somewhat with health care programs and assistance implemented by the federal government, one-tenth of America’s population still doesn’t have access to affordable health insurance. Keep reading to learn more about what challenges emerge without appropriate health coverage.

Key Uninsured Population Statistics for 2025 - Editor’s Choice

• 8.2% of Americans don’t have health insurance.
• Before the Affordable Care Act, one in six working adults didn’t have health insurance.
• Medicaid is used by more than 90 million people.
• Two thirds of insured Americans last year had private health insurance coverage. 
• A quarter of insured Americans were underinsured in 2024.

Health coverage is not only about being prepared for the worst, but also about taking advantage of preventative care. However, millions of Americans are uninsured, have gone into debt to cover medical bills, and are at risk of getting into more debt over time.

The overall rate of uninsured US citizens has been steady for a few years, but stayed high at around 10%. The uninsured rate is significantly higher in Hispanic and Black populations, residents of states that have not expanded Medicaid coverage, and people below the poverty line.

8.2% of US residents, or 27.1 million people, didn’t have health insurance in 2024.

(Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation)

This represented a significant increase from 7.7% in 2023.

Among adults under the age of 65, Hispanic adults (24.8%) were more likely than Black (10.4%), white (6.8%), and Asian (4.4%) adults to be uninsured.

(CDC, KFF)

Specific groups of people are more likely to be uninsured, and these numbers showcase the intersection of a socioeconomic and racial divide. In 2023, almost a quarter of the Hispanic population in the US didn’t have health insurance. The second least likely group to have coverage was Black people.

Workers in the farming, fishing, and forestry sector have the biggest gap in insurance coverage, with 19.4% of employees going without.

(CDC)

Your likelihood of having insurance coverage depends not only on your race and gender, but also your industry and what type of work you do. People employed in food preparation and serving are almost as likely to be uninsured as the least-insured group, as nearly one-fifth of them (19.3%) have no health coverage.

Reasons for Being Uninsured

Health insurance is getting to be even more expensive for a percentage of uninsured Americans. Looking back, from 2014 to 2024 total premiums for family coverage increased by 52%, and the worker’s share has increased by 51%, outpacing wage growth. This harsh reality makes healthcare unaffordable for many families.

One of the critical issues is that many employers don’t offer health coverage, and for many workers, it isn’t affordable even if you have a job.

Also, many lower-income adults in the US remain ineligible for financial assistance for coverage. 

While the most common reason for being uninsured in America was and continues to be the cost, some other factors come into play. For instance, some people aren’t eligible, don’t want the coverage, or find the process of signing up too difficult. Another reason is that there aren’t plans that meet the people's needs.

Most uninsured people are members of low-income families and have at least one worker in the family.

(KFF)

Around 73.7% of families without insurance have at least one full-time worker in their family. Research suggests that gaining health coverage improves care affordability and financial security among the low-income population. Those employed full-time are more likely to get coverage, but this is by no means a guarantee, as the data shows.

22.6% of uninsured adults in 2024 went without essential medical care because of the cost.

(KFF)

Additionally, 24.7% postponed seeking care due to cost.

What It All Means

Being one of the American citizens who are uninsured means you have to pay out of pocket for any medical services, however necessary or life-saving they may be. If you don’t have access to healthcare coverage or choose not to get it, you’re also much less likely to seek the medical care you need. You simply have worse care overall than people with health insurance.

Being insured keeps you safe from unexpected expenses, protects the money you’re saving for your future, gives you peace of mind, and, most importantly, helps preserve your physical and emotional health.

Since uninsured people often have little to no savings, they can’t pay medical bills, meaning they have to choose between staying healthy and going into medical debt.

As a matter of fact, more than 100 million Americans in 2025 have medical debt problems, which is a staggering percentage of the overall population, and includes many people who do have health insurance under the current system. Another harsh reality of being uninsured is that you’re more likely to die sooner.

10.3% of children under the age of 19 and living in poverty were uninsured in 2023.

(US Census Bureau)

Any barrier to having health insurance coverage reflects on a population’s youngest, especially for the most vulnerable members of society.

In 2023, 14% of young adults under 25 went without health insurance.

(Statista)

Young adults lack health coverage for various reasons, most of them stemming from the costs, which puts their health and quality of life at risk. With the introduction of ACA, young adults can be covered with their parents’ insurance, but it doesn’t help those without parents or those whose parents are uninsured.

Adults are at a higher risk of being uninsured than children and the elderly.

(KFF)

Children and the elderly are prioritized in healthcare coverage, which is good. However, adults between 19 and 64 also require affordable access to medical attention and preventative services, which they are the least likely to get.

More than 90 million people are currently using the expanded Medicaid program to cover medical expenses.

(Statista)

Medicaid helped lower the US uninsured rate, especially among low-income people, so now many more patients have the costs of most medical procedures covered compared to 10 years ago.

If they don’t qualify for Medicaid under ACA, the uninsured adults’ best bet is getting insured through employers who provide coverage through health insurance companies.

Prior to the launch of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, often referred to as Obamacare), more than 50 million people had no health insurance.

(KFF)

ACA rollout helped reduce the number of uninsured Americans. Before former President Barack Obama signed the act into law, one out of every six people in the US had no form of health coverage.

The US has the highest uninsured rate among developed countries, yet spends the most on healthcare per capita, at $12,555.

(Statista)

Despite spending 17.3% of its GDP on healthcare, the US remains one of the worst developed countries regarding medical insurance coverage and cost.

46% of adults find dental care the most challenging healthcare expense to cover.

(KFF)

Besides dental, hearing aids, and eyeglasses are the next largest expenditure, with 33% of people finding it difficult to cover that out-of-pocket, on par with mortgage payments.

15% of Americans have cut spending for essential household items to pay for necessary medical expenses.

(KFF)

The data also shows that more than 15% of Americans owe more than $10,000, of whom 33% still have a student loan to pay off.

65.4% of insured Americans last year had private health insurance coverage.

(Census.gov)

The rate is almost double that of public coverage.

23% of insured Americans had all-year coverage that made them underinsured.

(The Commonwealth Fund)

Additionally, 12% had coverage gaps last year.

66% of underinsured adults had coverage through an employer plan.

(The Commonwealth Fund)

The majority of insured adults in the US who had high out-of-pocket costs or deductibles relative to their income were covered under employer plans.