Less Than Half of Americans Can Afford Healthcare, Gallup Poll Reveals

The latest West Health-Gallup Affordability Index reveals a troubling trend in healthcare accessibility and affordability. According to the poll, fewer than 50% of American adults can consistently afford quality healthcare. This decline has significant implications for public health, financial stability, and overall well-being.

The study, conducted from October through December 2025, surveyed a nationally representative sample of 5,660 adults aged 18 and older via web and mail. The findings highlight a persistent downward trend in healthcare cost security, with the percentage of "Cost Secure" individuals dropping from 61% in 2022 to 49% in 2025.

The Faces of Healthcare Insecurity

The poll categorizes adults into three groups based on their ability to access and pay for healthcare: Cost Secure, Cost Insecure, and Cost Desperate.

• Cost Secure: These individuals can access quality, affordable care and have recently been able to pay for both needed care and medicine. This group has shrunk from 61% in 2022 to 49% in 2025.
• Cost Insecure: These adults lack access to quality, affordable care or have recently been unable to pay for either needed care or medicine. They represent 41% of the adult population, up from 37% in 2024.
• Cost Desperate: This group lacks access to quality, affordable care and has recently been unable to pay for both needed care and medicine. It accounts for 10% of adults, a slight increase from previous years.

The data also reveals stark disparities across demographic lines. The gap in cost security between Black and Hispanic adults compared to white adults has widened since 2021. Cost security among Black adults has declined by 16 percentage points, and among Hispanic adults by 19 percentage points, while it has only dropped by three percentage points for white adults.

Healthcare affordability remains a significant issue even among middle-income and upper-middle-income households. About one-third of U.S. Households with annual incomes between $120,000 and $179,999 are not considered cost secure, highlighting that financial stability does not guarantee healthcare access.

The Human Cost

The consequences of this trend are far-reaching. When people cannot afford healthcare, they often delay or forego necessary medical treatment, leading to poorer health outcomes and increased medical debt. This, in turn, places a greater burden on the healthcare system and can exacerbate existing health disparities.

For example, individuals who postpone routine check-ups or fail to fill prescriptions may develop more severe conditions that require more intensive and costly interventions later. This cycle not only affects individual well-being but also strains community resources and economic productivity.

The West Health-Gallup report warns that if left unaddressed, these trends risk contributing to delayed care, poorer health outcomes, increased medical debt, greater health system burden, and even higher costs in the long run. The implications for public health are clear: without accessible and affordable healthcare, the overall health of the nation is at risk.

Addressing this issue requires a multifaceted approach that includes policy changes, community support, and innovative solutions to make healthcare more affordable and accessible for all Americans. The data from this poll serves as a call to action, urging policymakers and stakeholders to prioritize healthcare affordability in their efforts to improve public health.