A Record Number Of Americans Are Anxious About Health Care Costs Going Into Next Year

Americans are going into 2026 much anxious astir wellness attraction costs than astatine immoderate different constituent successful caller years, a new West Health-Gallup study finds.

Almost half of adults, 47%, opportunity they’re worried they won’t beryllium capable to spend wellness attraction adjacent twelvemonth — nan highest level since West Health and Gallup began search successful 2021, nan study published Tuesday found.

Concerns astir prescription supplier costs person climbed steadily, nan study recovered — rising from 30% successful 2021 to 37% successful 2025, besides nan highest level recorded. And nan stock of adults who opportunity wellness attraction costs origin “a batch of stress” successful their regular lives has astir doubled since 2022, rising from 8% to 15%. The study besides recovered that astir 1 successful 3 adults reported delaying aliases skipping aesculapian attraction complete nan past twelvemonth because they couldn’t spend it.

The yearly survey, conducted successful June done August, was based connected astir 20,000 respondents crossed each 50 states and Washington, D.C., and asked 27 questions astir people’s wellness attraction experiences.

Health attraction has go a cardinal rumor successful politics. Senate Democrats’ push to widen enhanced subsidies for nan Affordable Care Act led to nan longest authorities shutdown successful history. The ACA taxation credits, which person protected group from double-digit premium increases, are group to expire Dec. 31. Republicans blocked nan effort, and nan Trump management has vowed to “fix Obamacare” but has yet to merchandise a elaborate plan.

“The study shows wellness attraction affordability isn’t conscionable a governmental debate, it’s a problem galore group are experiencing now,” said Larry Levitt, executive vice president for wellness argumentation astatine KFF, a nonpartisan investigation group. “Americans person been struggling to support up pinch rising wellness costs mostly and wellness attraction specifically.” He wasn’t progressive successful nan survey.

The study didn’t touch connected the subsidies’ expiring. Nor did it see questions astir Medicaid activity requirements that will spell into effect successful 2027.

Taken together pinch nan sum losses that would follow, galore group could face moreover greater challenges paying for wellness attraction in nan years ahead, said Timothy Lash, president of West Health, a nonpartisan group that researches wellness attraction costs and aging.

“The urgency astir this is real,” Lash said. “When you look astatine nan economical strain that is connected families correct now, moreover if wellness attraction prices didn’t rise, nan costs are rising elsewhere, which only exacerbates nan problem.”

Lash said each metric successful nan study has either held dependable aliases gotten worse.

“Americans are saying, ‘Hey, now that I really deliberation astir it, I’m paying excessively overmuch and I’m not getting enough,’” Lash said. “Health attraction is not what it needs to beryllium correct now.”

Differences crossed states

How group acquisition wellness attraction varied greatly crossed states.

Iowa, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., and Rhode Island classed highest for wide wellness attraction experiences, peculiarly successful really easy residents tin afford, entree and get wellness attraction erstwhile and wherever they request it.

Texas, New Mexico, Nevada and Alaska classed astatine nan bottommost of nan list.

While 66% of group successful Nebraska — which classed 10th wide — said it’s easy to get nan wellness attraction they need, conscionable 30% successful New Mexico and 31% successful Nevada agreed.

But moreover successful nan top-ranked states, galore group still look difficulties, Lash said. About 15% of group successful nan apical 10 states said they’ve been incapable to salary for medicine narcotics successful nan past 3 months, compared pinch 29% successful nan bottommost 10.

About 25% of group successful nan apical 10 states reported skipping recommended laboratory tests aliases aesculapian procedures because of nan costs complete nan past year, compared pinch 40% of group successful nan bottommost 10.

Skipping aliases forgoing aesculapian attraction was astir communal successful states for illustration Texas (43% reported doing so), Montana (43%) and Alaska (41%), nan study found.

Beyond cost, Americans cited different barriers that person restricted entree to care. Nationally, 55% said agelong hold times prevented aliases delayed care, and 27% cited activity schedules arsenic a barrier.

The apical 10 and nan bottommost 10 states had akin shares of group who delayed aliases prevented attraction because they didn’t cognize really to find providers: 25% and 31%, respectively.

“When you look astatine nan rankings ... we person to beryllium very observant to opportunity that personification won,” Lash said. “It’s for illustration being nan tallest kid successful kindergarten and past abruptly stepping extracurricular nan schoolroom and realizing, like, possibly you’re not truthful gangly aft all.”

Dr. Adam Gaffney, a captious attraction expert and adjunct professor astatine Harvard Medical School, said nan U.S. wellness attraction strategy is designed to make patients person “skin successful nan game” erstwhile it comes to paying for precocious wellness costs.

“While it’s not astonishing that states pinch precocious uninsurance rates — for illustration Mississippi, which has not expanded Medicaid — person higher rates of costs problems than a authorities for illustration Massachusetts, wherever I work,” Gaffney wrote successful an email, “even present successful nan Bay State ample numbers acquisition costs worries owed to inadequate insurance.”

Lawrence Gostin, head of nan O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law astatine Georgetown University, said nan findings whitethorn adhd unit connected Congress to widen nan enhanced ACA subsidies earlier nan extremity of nan year.

Even if they don’t, he said, nan unit could intensify erstwhile Medicaid activity requirements statesman successful 2027. The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan authorities group, projects that 4.8 cardinal people will suffer sum because of nan activity requirements.

“The nationalist has awesome worry astir entree to affordable wellness care,” Gostin said. “Deep interest and worry complete wellness security premiums and aesculapian bills is only apt to go much acute owed to nan lapse successful ACA premium subsidies and awesome cuts to Medicaid.”