Federal data released this week outlined a 7.9% uninsurance rate across the country in 2025, roughly even with the rate found in both 2024 and 2023.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s annual look (PDF) at nationwide insurance coverage showed 311.2 million people (92.1%) were insured at some point of the year, with the remaining 26.7 million being uninsured across the full calendar. The uninsured tally was roughly 268,000 people below 2024’s count, which the bureau noted was well within the survey analysis’ margin of error.
Within the coverage total, employer-sponsored plans were the most commonly reported source of coverage (53.5%) for at least part of the year, followed by Medicare (20.1%) and Medicaid (17.1%). Following those were direct-purchase coverage (10.5%), TRICARE (2.8%) and the VA and CHAMPTVA (1.2%).
From year to year, the bureau noted a significant jump in those covered by Medicare (2.2 million more, a 0.6% increase in share) and a drop for those covered by Medicaid (1.4 million fewer, a 0.5% decrease in share).
Within the non-retirement-age adult population, public coverage declined by 0.5% from 2024 to 2025. For seniors, private coverage dipped by 2.8%. Broadly speaking, seniors and children were more likely than other adults to be insured “because their age makes them eligible for certain public health programs,” the Census Bureau wrote in its report.
Uninsurance among children was 5.8%, or about 4.4 million, reflecting a slight decline that was not statistically significant. That said, uninsurance varied substantially between different groups. Uninsurance among children in the Northeast was 2.6% versus 8% in the South; 3.6% and 4.2% among Asian and non-Hispanic White children versus 9.4% among Hispanic; and 5.3% for native-born children versus 16.1% among those who were born abroad (and 18.3% for foreign-born, non-citizen children).
The Census Bureau’s numbers differ slightly from those of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which reported a couple months back an 8.3% overall uninsurance rate and a 5.6% rate for children.
Still, both reports show that insurance rates in the country were holding steady year to year in the run up to coverage disruptions that began to take effect this year—namely, the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act Marketplace subsidies and the more longitudinal changes of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, such as national work requirements. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that 10 million more people would become uninsured by 2034 due to these policies.
Hospitals and health systems having been feeling the early impacts of coverage changes. Earnings reports from major for-profits have noted that fewer patients than expected have been finding alternative sources of coverage after dropping off an ACA plan. Aggregate industry operating data has also outlined a steady increase in bad debt and charity being accrued by hospitals.