Key Facts about Health Insurance and the Uninsured amidst Changes to the Affordable Care Act

February 1, 2019

  • 55% of uninsured are eligible for financial assistance in getting healthcare, and still can’t afford it
  • The other 45% live in states that did not expand Medicaid, face immigration eligibility issues, or do not qualify for financial assistance
  • 27.4 million uninsured in 2017–the first year that figure rose since the ACA became law
  • In 2017, 13 out of 18 states with the highest uninsured rates had not expanded Medicaid
    • Hospitals frequently charge an uninsured patient 2-4 times what insurers and public programs actually pay
    • Among uninsured adults in 2015, 33% were asked to pay upfront before they could see a doctor
    • 53% of uninsured said they had trouble paying household medical bills in the past year