The number of Americans without health insurance isn't budging. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows the uninsured rate held steady at 8.3% in 2025, meaning roughly 28 million people went without coverage. That's essentially flat from 8.2% in 2024.

The CDC's National Health Interview Survey found that 23.5 million adults aged 18 to 64 were uninsured last year, along with 4 million children. Adults in that age group remain the most likely to lack coverage.

On the private insurance front, there's a bit of good news. Among adults 18 to 64, private coverage ticked up to 69.4% in 2025 from 66.6% in 2021. But public coverage has been slipping, falling to 21.0% from a peak of 23.0% in 2023.

Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange plans are becoming more popular—coverage through the marketplaces rose to 6.3% in 2025 from 4.3% in 2021. The highest coverage rates were among households earning between 100% and 200% of the federal poverty level.

Medicaid and ACA Pressures Build

The CDC data comes at a time when healthcare affordability is a growing concern across the country. Earlier Congressional Budget Office analysis found that several Republican Medicaid reform proposals could leave millions without coverage over the next decade. One proposal to reduce federal Medicaid funding for states that expanded coverage under the ACA was estimated to remove coverage for 5.5 million people by 2034, with 2.4 million expected to become uninsured.

Another proposal involving the elimination of state provider taxes was projected to result in 8.6 million people losing Medicaid coverage and 3.9 million more Americans becoming uninsured by 2034.

ACA enrollment is also expected to weaken after enhanced pandemic-era subsidies expired. KFF estimated that ACA marketplace enrollment could decline to about 17.5 million people in 2026 from 22.3 million in 2025 as insurance premiums and deductibles rise.

Average ACA monthly premiums climbed 58% year-over-year after enhanced tax credits expired, while deductibles reached record highs.

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban has also criticized rising insurance premiums and high deductibles, arguing that many households struggle to fully use their healthcare coverage.

The CDC report showed uninsured rates remained significantly higher in states that did not expand Medicaid. Adults aged 18 to 64 in non-expansion states recorded an uninsured rate of 18.1% in 2025, compared with 9.0% in Medicaid expansion states.

Hispanic Coverage Improved

Hispanic adults saw the biggest improvement in coverage. The uninsured rate among Hispanic adults aged 18 to 64 fell to 21.9% in 2025 from 30.1% in 2021. Still, Hispanic adults remain the demographic group most likely to lack health insurance.

The CDC survey was based on interviews with more than 24,800 adults and 6,000 children nationwide.

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