A nationally representative survey of more than 20,000 U.S. adults found that 33% made at least one daily spending trade-off to pay for healthcare in the past year
One-in-three Americans have cut back on food, utilities, and other daily necessities over the last year to cover healthcare costs, according to new research from the West Health-Gallup Center.
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The survey results underscore the deepening concerns over the financial strain healthcare expenses are placing on U.S. households.
A nationally representative survey of roughly 20,000 U.S. adults across all 50 states and Washington D.C. conducted between June and August 2025 found that 33% of respondents, equivalent to more than 82 million Americans, made at least one trade-off in daily spending to pay for healthcare.1
Daily cutbacks include:
According to the survey, the burden fell hardest on the uninsured. About 62% of those without coverage reported making at least one sacrifice, including 32% who borrowed money and 24% who prolonged their medications.1
Even among insured Americans, close to three in ten reported making similar sacrifices.1
The survey findings span across income levels and appear to challenge the assumption that healthcare affordability is solely a low-income problem. According to the survey, more than half of adults in households earning less than $24,000 annually reported making at least one daily trade-off to pay for care, as did 47% of those earning between $24,000 and $48,000.1
A quarter of adults in households earning $90,000 to $120,000, about 9 million Americans, reported the same as the previously mentioned groups, as did 11% of those earning $240,000 or more.1
More findings showed that Americans in poor or fair health were more likely than those in better health to report financial trade-offs, suggesting that those who rely most heavily on the healthcare system are also the most financially exposed to its costs.1
Geographic disparities in the finding were significant, as residents in the bottom-ranked states for healthcare affordability were nearly twice as likely to report stretching prescriptions or borrowing money compared to those in top-ranked states such as Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Iowa, though even in those leading states, about one in ten still reported taking such actions.1
Most Americans with private health insurance are facing higher premiums and steeper out-of-pocket costs in 2026, including millions enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans where enhanced pandemic-era subsidies have expired.2
Timothy Lash, president of the West Health Policy Center, warned that the financial burden is compounding an already worsening public health picture. "We're not getting healthier as a society, we're actually getting sicker, and the healthcare cost is going up on top of it," he said, pointing to rising rates of metabolic disease, depression, and anxiety.
A separate survey of 5,660 U.S. adults collected between October and December 2025 found that healthcare costs are forcing Americans to delay significant life milestones. Nearly one in ten adults, an estimated 24 million Americans, said they had postponed retirement due to healthcare expenses, while roughly twice as many reported delaying a job change.1 Fourteen percent said they had put off buying a new home, and 6% reported postponing growing their family.
The impact on long-term planning extends well into middle- and higher-income brackets, as around half of adults in households earning between $48,000 and $180,000 reported delaying at least one major life decision in the past four years due to healthcare costs.1
One-third of those earning $180,000 to $240,000 said the same, as did one in four earning above $240,000.
West Health and Gallup concluded that healthcare affordability has become a systemic economic and societal challenge rather than one confined to any income group, warning that the situation is likely to worsen without significant healthcare reform.1
