The latest data released from the Minnesota Health Access Survey (MNHA) show sharp increases in the uninsured rate in the state, increasing from 3.8% (a historic low) to 5.8% between 2023 and 2025. This is the highest that the rate has been in six years, and equates to approximately 116,000 more Minnesotans being uninsured.
Increases in the rate of uninsurance happened across the state. Minnesotans living in metropolitan areas saw a significant surge in uninsurance (from 3.4% to 5.7% in 2025), as did Minnesotans living in rural areas (from 4.3% to 6.7% in 2025).
The increased rate of uninsured Minnesotans appears to be driven by a decrease in public coverage, which dropped from 44.1% to 39.6%.
Disparities Persist
Long-standing disparities in the state’s uninsurance rate by race/ethnicity and income persisted in 2025. People in Minnesota with lower incomes are more than twice as likely to be uninsured, with survey data showing 13% of people with an income below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines were uninsured in 2025.
Hispanic Minnesotans continue to be the most likely to be without insurance coverage. More than 20% of the state’s Hispanic population report being uninsured—greater than three times the statewide rate and significantly higher than the 11.4% rate reported just two years ago.
Additionally, Black and American Indian Minnesotans continued to report disproportionately high rates of uninsurance. The uninsurance rate among Black Minnesotans jumped nearly four percentage points from 6.3% to 10.1%, while American Indians saw uninsurance rates increase from 5.7% to 10.5%.
Concerns About Keeping Coverage and Cost Increases
Concerns over losing health insurance coverage weigh heavily on Minnesotans. More than 12% of insured Minnesotans said they are worried about losing coverage, a statistically significant increase from 7.7% in 2023. The share of these Minnesotans expressing anxiety over rising costs and coverage becoming too expensive jumped more than 10 percentage points in the latest data (28.8% in 2025 compared to 17.5% in 2023).
“Insurance coverage isn’t just important for physical and mental health, it’s key to financial health, too,” said Lacey Hartman, who leads the survey at the State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC). “Getting sick or injured when you are uninsured can have terrible consequences for a family’s finances.”
About the Data
The Minnesota Health Access Survey is a biennial state-based population survey that collects information on Minnesotans’ health insurance coverage and health care access. The survey measures how many people in Minnesota have health insurance and how easy it is for them to get health care.
The Minnesota Health Access Survey is conducted as a partnership between the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and SHADAC, which is part of the Health Policy and Management Division of the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. The survey had responses from more the 16,000 Minnesotans across the state and was conducted between September and December 2025.
Read More Findings from Minnesota Department of Health Publications
These are just some of the findings from the latest MNHA data release. To learn more of the findings and explore more of the data, check out the following publications:
- 2025 MNHA: Press Release, MDH
- SHADAC and MDH Coauthored Fact Sheet: Findings from the 2025 Minnesota Health Access Survey (MNHA)
- Explore the data with MDH’s MNHA Interactive Data Tool
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