Health Care Costs Impacting Families' Financial Decisions

MONDAY, March 16, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- One-third of Americans are making financial trade-offs to pay for health care, according to a survey released March 12 by the West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America.The nationally representative survey of 19,535 U.S. adults conducted from June through August 2025 estimated that more than 82 million Americans had made at least one daily life trade-off in the past year to pay for health care expenses. The most common actions taken included prescription rationing and nonadherence (15 percent) and borrowing money (15 percent). As expected, the financial strain is most common among households earning <$24,000 a year (55 percent) and those without health insurance (62 percent). However, trade-offs are not limited to low-income households, with 25 percent of adults in households earning $90,000 to $120,000 a year also making trade-offs, along with 11 percent of adults in households earning ≥$240,000.In a separate survey conducted Oct. 27 to Dec. 22, 2025 (5,660 adults), many Americans revealed they are delaying events such as surgical and medical treatments (26 percent), changing jobs (18 percent), or purchasing a new home (14 percent) due to health care cost pressures. Additionally, nearly 9 percent said they postponed their retirement, and 6 percent have put off having or adopting a child. Major life decisions were postponed across household incomes but impacted half of households earning $48,000 to <$180,000 versus 34 percent of households earning $180,000 to <$240,000 and 25 percent of households earning ≥$240,000."When families across every income level are forced to choose between medical bills and paying their heating or electric bill -- that’s not a personal budgeting problem -- it's a systems failure," Tim Lash, president of the West Health Policy Center, said in a statement.More Information.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Health Care Costs Impacting Families' Financial Decisions

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