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Healthcare Affordability Crisis: Millions of Americans Struggle with Medical Costs
As Americans face escalating expenses across various sectors, a recent survey reveals a significant challenge in affording quality healthcare. A substantial portion of the population is finding it difficult to manage rising healthcare costs, impacting their access to necessary medical services.
Significant Portion of US Adults Unable to Afford Necessary Care
According to the latest West Health-Gallup Healthcare Affordability Index, over one-third of adults in the United States, approximately 91 million individuals, report being unable to access quality healthcare should they require it today. This underscores a growing crisis in healthcare accessibility and affordability.
Skyrocketing National Healthcare Expenditure
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data indicates that federal spending on healthcare reached $4.9 trillion in 2023, equating to approximately $14,570 per person. Despite this massive expenditure, a large segment of the population struggles to afford basic medical care.
Insurance Coverage Gaps and Medical Debt
While around 305 million Americans possess health insurance, an estimated 26 million remain uninsured and are directly responsible for covering their hospital bills. Consequently, about four in ten adults report accumulating debt from unpaid medical or dental bills. Alarmingly, over 70 million Americans avoid seeking medical attention due to concerns about high costs.
Disparities in Healthcare Affordability Across Demographics
Hispanic Americans Disproportionately Impacted
The West Health-Gallup Healthcare Affordability Index highlights significant disparities, with Hispanic Americans being the most severely affected demographic. Fifty-two percent of Hispanic respondents indicated they are unable to afford quality healthcare.
Black Americans Face Significant Affordability Challenges
Black Americans are the second most impacted group, with approximately 46 percent reporting that they cannot manage their medical expenses.
Low-Income Households Struggle to Access Care
The survey further revealed that 64 percent of individuals earning less than $24,000 annually and 57 percent of households with annual incomes between $24,000 and $48,000 are also encountering difficulties in affording healthcare.
Higher-Income Households Remain Relatively Stable
In contrast, Americans earning over $48,000 have maintained a relatively consistent ability to access affordable care between 2023 and 2024.
Over a third of US citizens (about 91 million people) are unable to access quality healthcare if they needed it today
Expert Analysis on Worsening Healthcare Affordability
Dan Witters, senior researcher at Gallup, stated in a news release: “Healthcare affordability and access continue to deteriorate nationwide, and this issue is particularly pronounced among Black, Hispanic, and lower-income adults.”
“White adults and those in higher-income households, conversely, are largely shielded from these worsening trends,” Witters added.
“Among these groups, this represents the widest disparity in access to care we have documented to date, with numerous Americans experiencing heightened hardship year after year.”
Survey Methodology and Findings
The survey collected responses via web and mail from 6,296 adults aged 18 and older across all 50 US states and the District of Columbia, conducted between November 18 and December 27, 2024.
Participants were categorized into three groups:
- Cost Secure: Individuals who reported no recent difficulties accessing or affording care or prescription medications.
- Cost Insecure: Individuals who had recently been unable to access care, afford care, or prescription medications.
- Cost Desperate: Individuals who had recently been unable to access all services, including affordable care and prescription medications.
Declining Healthcare Security and Rising Desperation
The survey results indicated that only 51 percent of Americans were classified as cost secure, marking the lowest level since 2021.
A record high of 11 percent of Americans, approximately 29 million, were categorized as cost desperate, highlighting the severity of the affordability crisis.
Persistent Cost Insecurity and Widening Disparities
While fluctuations were observed in the proportions of Americans classified as cost desperate and cost secure in recent years, nearly four in ten Americans remained cost insecure, indicating a persistent vulnerability in healthcare affordability.
Hispanic adults experienced the most significant decline in security over the four-year period, dropping 17 percentage points to 34 percent.
Black adults followed with a 13 percentage point decrease to 41 percent.
The High Cost of Uninsured Care
For individuals without insurance, primary care visits can range from $150 to $300 simply for consultation. Even with insurance, copays typically range from $10 to $50, adding to the financial burden.
Growing Gap Between Those Who Can and Cannot Afford Healthcare
Survey findings revealed a considerable widening of the gap between individuals who can and cannot afford healthcare since the initial questionnaire in 2021, particularly among Hispanic adults (up eight percentage points to 18 percent).
The gap also increased for Black adults (up five percentage points to 14 percent) and lower-income households earning under $24,000 per year (up 11 percentage points to 25 percent).
Conversely, minimal change in status was observed among White adults or Americans in middle to high-income households over the past four years.
Factors Contributing to Increased Healthcare Affordability Challenges
Researchers suggest that the widening affordability gap may be attributed to a combination of factors, including elevated levels of consumer and medical inflation, and ongoing drug shortages.
Decreasing rates of Medicaid enrollment due to the expiration of continuous enrollment provisions and substantial reductions in Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment could also contribute to the problem.
Tim Lash, president of West Health Policy Center, stated that the only way to decrease the gap and make healthcare affordable was through change in governmental policy
Call for Policy Action to Address the Affordability Crisis
Tim Lash, president of West Health Policy Center, emphasized that policy changes at the governmental level are essential to narrow the affordability gap and make healthcare more accessible.
In a news release, Lash cautioned: “The escalating trend in the inability to afford healthcare is a concerning trajectory that is likely to persist and even accelerate.”
“Policy intervention at both the state and federal levels is urgently required, or even more Americans will be forced to forgo treatment or make difficult choices between paying for medical care and covering other essential needs,” Lash stated.
“The human and economic consequences are immense,” he concluded.
Debate on Government-Run Healthcare Programs
These findings emerge following comments from Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr., who suggested that Americans are dissatisfied with government-run health care programs and might prefer private insurance plans.
Kennedy, 71, voiced criticism of government-operated health care programs during a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing in January.
When questioned about improving Medicare and Medicaid, Kennedy, who utilizes a Medicare Advantage plan—a private alternative to traditional Medicare—responded: “We need to consider what people prefer.”
“I would ask any of the Democrats who are chuckling just now: Do you think all that money, the $900 billion that we’re sending to Medicaid every year, has made Americans healthy? Do we think it’s working for anybody? Are the premiums low enough?” he questioned.
Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. claimed that Americans were unhappy with government-run health care programs and would prefer to be on private-company owned plans
Drugmakers have hiked up the prices of more than 770 drugs since the start of the year — including medications used daily by millions of Americans
Rising Drug Prices Add to Healthcare Cost Burden
In January 2024, reports indicated that pharmaceutical companies had increased the prices of over 770 drugs, including widely used medications like Ozempic, a diabetes drug frequently used for weight management.
Its manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, increased the price by 3.5 percent, bringing it to nearly $970 per month’s supply.
Similarly, Eli Lilly raised the cost of Mounjaro, another diabetes and weight loss drug, by 4.5 percent, reaching almost $1,070 per month.
AstraZeneca also increased prices by three percent for Calquence (blood cancer treatment), Tagrisso (non-small cell lung cancer drug), and Fasenra (asthma treatment).
Pfizer’s price hikes included a six percent increase for Xeljanz, a treatment for autoimmune diseases, and 7.9 percent increases for cancer drugs Ibrance and Xalkori.
Pfizer justified these increases as necessary to support investments in drug research and development.