How many people are uninsured?
With policies in place to protect health coverage for people who may have lost jobs and/or income during the pandemic, the number of uninsured decreased in 2021. In 2021, 27.5 million nonelderly individuals were uninsured, a decrease of nearly 1.5 million from 2019. Coverage gains were driven by increases in Medicaid and non-group coverage that offset declines in employer-sponsored coverage and were particularly large among Hispanic people and people in working families.
Who are the uninsured?
Most uninsured people are in low-income families and have at least one worker in the family. Reflecting the more limited availability of public coverage in some states, adults are more likely to be uninsured than children. People of color are generally at higher risk of being uninsured than White people, though Asian people have the lowest uninsured rate.
Why are people uninsured?
Despite policy efforts to improve the affordability of coverage, many uninsured people cite the high cost of insurance as the main reason they lack coverage. In 2021, 64% of uninsured adults said that they were uninsured because the cost of coverage was too high. Many people do not have access to coverage through a job, and some people, particularly poor adults in states that did not expand Medicaid, remain ineligible for financial assistance for coverage. Additionally, undocumented immigrants are ineligible for Medicaid or Marketplace coverage.
