The ACA has made considerable gains in health insurance coverage, with the number of uninsured people declining by over 19 million between 2010 and 2017. However, many remain uninsured. This updates our 2015 analysis of the characteristics of the remaining uninsured, focusing on people uninsured in 2017 as well as how the characteristics of this population have changed. This analysis relies upon data from the March 2015 and March 2017 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

The number of uninsured people fell by nearly 2.9 million between 2015 and 2017. We provide detailed characteristics of the overall population as well as for the 7.5 million uninsured eligible for Medicaid and the 3.1 million uninsured eligible for the largest amount of financial assistance (premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions) through the ACA Marketplaces. We also outline an array of possible approaches for increasing insurance coverage, based on the characteristics of these target populations.