Profile of Virginia’s Uninsured

The Virginia Health Care Foundation’s Profile of Virginia’s Uninsured provides a detailed picture of the Commonwealth’s uninsured, using the American Community Survey (ACS) of the US Census and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey – both conducted in 2022.

This year’s report shows the lowest uninsured rates in Virginia since the Virginia Health Care Foundation (VHCF) began tracking them in 1996 (7.7% or 544,000 of nonelderly Virginians).

The 2024 Profile includes slides, maps and detailed tables describing the uninsured who are income-eligible for Virginia’s Cardinal Care (Medicaid/FAMIS). It is not possible to compare the data in the 2024 Profile with previous Profiles of Virginia’s Uninsured, however.

The 2024 Profile includes ACS data for key years over a 9-year time period to show trends uninsurance (2013, 2019, 2021, 2022), since it is not possible to compare data in this report with data from previous Profiles.

See below for details.

  • Uninsured Virginians under age 65 represented every population in Virginia: 37.8% are white non-Hispanic, 19.0% are African American/Black, 30.5% are Hispanic, and 6.3% are Asian/Pacific Islander.
  • 9.0% of Virginians, ages 19 to 64, had no health insurance — 455,000 non-elderly adult Virginians.
  • The majority of uninsured Virginians under age 65 were part of working families (82.2%) — slightly more than half with at least one full time worker (53.5%, 291,000).
  • About a third (30.1%, 163,000) of all uninsured Virginians under age 65 lived in households below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).
  • Almost 40% uninsured Virginians, ages 19 – 64, lived in families with income ≤138% FPL, so are income-eligible for the adult Medicaid that became available in January 2019 (38.7%, 176,000).
  • Most Virginians eligible for adult Medicaid (79.5%, 140,000) do not have children.
  • Of the 88,000 children in Virginia without health insurance, 39,000 are income-eligible for Medicaid/FAMIS, representing 44.3% of all uninsured Virginia children.

For a thorough examination of the demographic characteristics of Virginia’s uninsured, see:

Please cite the Virginia Health Care Foundation and Urban Institute when using data from the 2024 Profile of Virginia’s Uninsured. When using PowerPoint slides from the Profile, please use the complete slide using notes and citations from the Urban Institute.

  • Due to federal COVID-19 pandemic policies, to include continuous coverage for Medicaid members and enhanced Marketplace subsidies for enrollees, very few people were disenrolled from public/publicly-subsidized health insurance and the number of uninsured dropped in Virginia and nationwide.
  • Urban Institute did not adjust Census data for mis-reporting of Medicaid/FAMIS coverage in this analysis, as it has in years past, due to increased under-reporting of Medicaid/FAMIS coverage during the study period.

What is the impact of being uninsured?

  • Do not receive the care they need: Uninsured Americans are less likely to get care due to injury or illness and preventive care than those with insurance.  (Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, 2023).
  • Financial Implications Can Be Significant: Many uninsured Americans encounter unaffordable bills and accrue debt from medical or dental bills. (Source:  Kaiser Family Foundation, 2023).
  • Children with health insurance have better health, behavioral health and educational outcomes: When children have health insurance and can access needed care, they have improved health, education and financial success over the long-term.  (Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2023)

The Profile of Virginia’s Uninsured was prepared for the Virginia Health Care Foundation by the Urban Institute and completed in March 2024. For more information on the study, methodology or results, contact VHCF at 804/828-5804 or dkonrad@vhcf.org.

Last Updated on April 3, 2024