The share of Americans without health insurance was essentially unchanged in 2025, according to estimates from the CDC’s National Health Interview Survey published in May.
The data offer a baseline snapshot of coverage before recent major policy changes, including the expiration of enhanced ACA subsidies at the end of 2025 and Medicaid changes under H.R. 1. starting next year.
Five notes:
1. The overall uninsured rate held at 8.3% last year. An estimated 28 million people of all ages were uninsured at the time of the survey in 2025, compared with 27.2 million in 2024 (8.2%).
2. Adults ages 18 to 64 remained the most likely group to lack coverage, with an uninsured rate of 11.6%, unchanged from 2024. The age group accounted for roughly 23.5 million of the 28 million uninsured. Adults 65 and older were nearly universally covered at 0.7% uninsured, reflecting Medicare’s reach. Children ages 17 and under saw their uninsured rate edge up to 5.6% from 5.1% in 2024, though the CDC said the change was not statistically significant.
3. Among adults ages 18 to 64, private coverage reached 69.4% in 2025, up from 66.6% in 2021. Public coverage, which includes Medicaid, CHIP and military plans, declined to 21% from a recent peak of 23% in 2023, a drop tied in part to Medicaid redeterminations post-pandemic. Exchange-based coverage grew from 4.3% in 2021 to 6.3% of the under-65 population in 2025, or roughly 17.4 million people.
4. Among Hispanic adults ages 18 to 64, the uninsured rate fell to 21.9% in 2025 from 24.6% in 2024, the only racial or ethnic group to record a statistically significant year-over-year change. Hispanic adults were still the most likely group to lack coverage, followed by Black adults at 11.3%, White adults at 8.5% and Asian adults at 4.9%.
5. Adults in states that have not expanded Medicaid were more than twice as likely to be uninsured as those in expansion states (18.1% vs. 9% in 2025). Non-expansion states also had lower rates of public coverage (14.7% vs. 23.5% in expansion states).
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