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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. About half of U.S. adults say that it is very or somewhat difficult for them to afford their health care costs (47%). Among those under age 65, uninsured adults are much more likely to say affording health care costs is difficult (85%) compared to those with health insurance coverage (47%). Additionally, at least six in ten Black adults (60%) and Hispanic adults (65%) 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 than three times as likely as adults in households with incomes over $90,000 to say it is difficult to afford their health care costs (69% v. 21%). (Source: KFF Health Care Debt Survey: Feb.-Mar. 2022)
The cost of care can also lead some adults to skip or delay seeking services. One-third of adults say they or another family member living in their household has not gotten a medical test or treatment that was recommended by a doctor in the past year because of the cost, while about four in ten (43%) report that they or a family member in their household has put off or postponed needed health care due to cost. The cost of care, medical tests, and treatments can also have disproportionate impacts among different groups of people. For instance, half of women say they have put off or postponed getting health care they needed because of the cost, compared to about one-third of men (35%), four in ten women say they have not gotten a recommended medical test or treatment due to cost compared to about a quarter of men (26%). Adults ages 65 and older, who are eligible for health care coverage through Medicare, are much less likely than younger age groups to say they have not gotten a test or treatment because of cost.
Six in ten uninsured adults under the age of 65 say they have postponed getting health care they needed due to cost compared to about half of insured adults (48%). Similarly, uninsured adults are also more likely to report skipping recommended tests or treatment due to cost than adults with insurance. Health insurance, however, does not offer ironclad protection as more than a third of those with insurance (37%) still report not getting a recommended test or treatment due to cost. Among adults ages 18-64 with employer-sponsored or self-purchased health insurance, half of those with higher or highest deductible plans say they or a family member has put off getting the health care they needed due to the cost, compared to four in ten (41%) with lower or zero deductible plans. (Source: KFF Health Care Debt Survey: Feb.-Mar. 2022)
The high cost of prescription drugs also leads some people to cut back on their medications in various ways or to try to obtain medications outside of a clinical setting. About a quarter (23%) of adults say they or family member in their household have not filled a prescription, cut pills in half, or skipped doses of medicine in the last year because of the cost, with larger shares of those in households with lower incomes, Black and Hispanic adults, and women reporting this. Few adults (10% among total) across income and gender say that they or a member of their household has purchased medications outside the U.S. due to cost, though there are notable differences across race and ethnicity. About one in five (22%) Hispanic adults say they or a family member has done so. Eight percent of adults say they have traded, purchased, or accepted donations of leftover medications from another person. (Source: KFF Health Care Debt Survey: Feb.-Mar. 2022)
While four in ten U.S. adults have some type of health care debt, disproportionate shares of lower income adults, the uninsured, Black and Hispanic adults, women, and parents report current debt du