Uninsured Rate in the U.S. Holds Steady in 2025 Amid Potential Changes

The proportion of Americans without health insurance remained steady at about 8% of the population in 2025, according to recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Despite a significant decrease in previous years, the number of uninsured could increase as the Trump administration’s major reforms to healthcare begin to take effect.

Legislation passed last year introduced significant modifications to Medicaid, the government program assisting low-income Americans. The Congressional Budget Office estimates this could leave an additional 10 million individuals uninsured over the next decade. Additionally, the expiration of certain Affordable Care Act subsidies, which helped cover premium costs, is expected to reduce participation in marketplace health plans. Estimates from the nonprofit healthcare research organization KFF predict around 5 million fewer enrollees in 2026 compared to 2025.

”The government tracks Americans’ insurance status through various programs, which may yield different results based on questions and timing,” noted David Howard, a health policy and management professor at Emory University. He added that many researchers regard the U.S. Census Bureau as the ‘official scorekeeper.’

However, the CDC’s findings are consistent with the Census survey and provide the first full set of data for 2025, the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term. The Trump administration has aimed to broaden access to low-premium catastrophic health insurance and reduce drug prices for uninsured individuals. They have also implied that a reduction in insurance enrollments might indicate a decrease in fraud and ineligible enrollments, not a decline among eligible Americans.

While the overall insured and uninsured rates in 2025 remain similar to 2024, the actual number of uninsured rose by about 800,000, including 300,000 children. This increase corresponds with overall population growth.

Survey results also hint at a possible uptick in the coverage rate among Hispanic Americans, potentially impacted by immigration policies leading to uninsured individuals leaving the country, according to Howard.

Most Americans aged 65 and older receive health insurance through Medicare. In contrast, younger populations are often covered through a mix of private and public insurance plans. The rate of uninsured Americans under 65 climbed from 12% in 1980 to over 18% in 2010. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 helped reverse this trend by expanding Medicaid and introducing measures to make insurance more accessible, which lowered the rate to nearly 10% by 2016. However, during Trump’s initial administration, it rose to between 11 and 12%, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics’ historical data.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the uninsured rate dropped due to policies aimed at maintaining coverage amidst employment and economic disruptions. The rate reached an unprecedented low in 2023, falling below 9%.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Associated Press independently manages all content.