Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs

• Just under half of U.S. adults say it is difficult to afford health care costs, and about three in ten say they or a family member in their household had problems paying for health care in the past 12 months. Hispanic adults, young adults, and the uninsured are particularly likely to report problems affording health care in the past year.
• The cost of health care can lead some to put off needed care. About one-third (36%) of adults say that in the past 12 months they have skipped or postponed getting health care they needed because of the cost. Notably three in four (75%) uninsured adults under age 65 say they went without needed care because of the cost.
• The cost of prescription drugs prevents some people from filling prescriptions. About one in five adults (21%) say they have not filled a prescription because of the cost while a similar share (23%) say they have instead opted for over-the-counter alternatives. About one in seven adults say they have cut pills in half or skipped doses of medicine in the last year because of the cost. A third of all adults say they have taken at least one of these cost saving measures in the past year, including larger shares of women and those with lower incomes.
• Health care debt is a burden for a large share of Americans. In 2022, about four in ten adults (41%) reported having debt due to medical or dental bills including debts owed to credit cards, collections agencies, family and friends, banks, and other lenders to pay for their health care costs, with disproportionate shares of Black and Hispanic adults, women, parents, those with low incomes, and uninsured adults saying they have health care debt.
• Those who are covered by health insurance are not immune to the burden of health care costs. Almost four in ten insured adults under the age of 65 (38%) worry about affording their monthly health insurance premium and large shares of adults with employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) and those with Marketplace coverage rate their insurance as “fair” or “poor” when it comes to their monthly premium and to out-of-pocket costs to see a doctor.
• Notable shares of adults say they are worried about affording medical costs such as the cost of health care services (including the cost of health insurance and out-of-pocket costs for things like office visits and prescription drugs). About two-thirds of adults say they are either “very worried” (32%) or “somewhat worried” (34%) about being able to afford the cost of health care for themselves and their families. The cost of health care ranks at the top of the list when it comes to things that people worry about affording, followed by food, utilities, and other household expenses.

Difficulty Affording Medical Costs

Many U.S. adults have trouble affording health care costs. While lower income and uninsured adults are the most likely to report this, those with health insurance and those with higher incomes are not immune to the high cost of medical care. Just under half of U.S. adults say that it is very or somewhat difficult for them to afford their health care costs (44%). Uninsured adults under age 65 are much more likely to say affording health care costs is difficult (82%) compared to those with health insurance coverage (42%). Additionally, a slight majority of Hispanic adults (55%) and half of Black adults (49%) report difficulty affording health care costs compared to about four in ten White adults (39%). Adults in households with annual incomes under $40,000 are more likely than adults in households with higher incomes to say it is difficult to afford their health care costs. (Source: KFF Health Tracking Poll: May 2025)

 

Figure 1

Nearly Half of Adults Say It Is Difficult To Afford Health Care Costs, Including Large Shares of the Uninsured, Black and Hispanic Adults, and Those With Lower Incomes

In general, how easy or difficult is it for you to afford your health care costs?

Mirrored bar chart showing shares who say it is easy or difficult to afford their health care costs by total, insurance status, race/ethnicity, and household income.

 

Very/Somewhat easy

Very/Somewhat difficult

Total

56%

44%

Insurance status among adults ages 18-64

no data

no data

Insured

58%

42%

Uninsured

18%

82%

Race/Ethnicity

no data

no data

Black

50%

49%

Hispanic

44%

55%

Asian

57%

43%

White

61%

39%

Household income

no data

no data

Less than $40,000

46%

53%

$40,000-$89,999

54%

46%

$90,000 +

70%

30%

Note: See topline for full question wording.

Source: KFF Health Tracking Poll (May 5-26, 2025)Download PNG

 

When asked specifically about problems paying for health care in the past year, about three in ten (28%) adults say they or a family member in their household had problems paying for care, rising to four in ten among Hispanic adults (41%) and young adults ages 18 to 29 (40%). Among those under age 65, six in ten (59%) uninsured adults report problems paying for health care in the past year, about twice the share of insured adults who say the same (30%). (Source: KFF Health Tracking Poll: November 2025)