For many years, KFF polling has found that the high cost of health care is a burden on U.S. families, and that health care costs factor into decisions about insurance coverage and care seeking. These costs also rank as the top financial worry for adults and their families. This data note summarizes recent KFF polling on the public’s experiences with health care costs. Main takeaways include:
- Health care costs are at the top of the list of people’s financial worries, with about a quarter (27%) saying they are “very” worried about affording health care costs for themselves and their families. This is followed by about one in five adults who are “very” worried about affording other household expenses, such as gasoline and transportation costs (22%), their rent or mortgage (21%), food and groceries (20%), or monthly utilities (19%).
- The cost of health care can lead some to put off needed care. About three in ten (28%) adults say in the past 12 months they have skipped or postponed getting health care they needed because of the cost. Uninsured adults under age 65 (62%), young adults under age 30 (40%), Hispanic adults (34%), adults with lower incomes (32%), and women (31%) are among the most likely to report that they put off needed care in the past year because of the cost. Putting off needed health care can have health repercussions; about one in seven (15%) adults overall say their health got worse because they skipped or delayed needed care for any reason, including cost, rising to 27% among those with multiple health conditions.
Source: Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs / KFF