Today, Gallup released a new poll revealing that fewer than half of Americans could consistently afford their health care. Conducted in 2025 after Trump and congressional Republicans made the largest health care cuts in American history to bankroll tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations on Wall Street, the poll found that 51 percent of Americans “lack access to quality, affordable care and/or have recently been unable to pay for either needed care and/or medicine.” This is a staggering increase of nearly 3 million people from 2024. Today, working Americans are delaying care just to make ends meet — and those who need to see a doctor are taking on medical debt or making impossible choices between keeping a roof over their heads and putting food on the table. Due to disastrous Republican policies, Americans are spending more on health care than ever before.
BY THE NUMBERS:
- 41 percent of Americans say they “lack access to quality, affordable care or have recently been unable to pay for either needed care or medicine.”
- An additional 10 percent say they “lack access to quality, affordable care and have recently been unable to pay for both needed care and medicine.”
- Only 38 percent of Black Americans and 32 percent of Hispanic Americans say they “have access to quality, affordable care and have recently been able to pay for both needed care and medicine,” compared with 55 percent of white adults.
- Health care affordability has dropped by 12 percent for women since 2022. The steepest drop occurred between 2024 and 2025, when reported affordability dropped from 48 to 42 percent.
- Young adults aged 18 to 29 have experienced the largest drop in health care affordability. Young adults reporting they have access to and can afford both care and medicine has dropped by 14 percent since 2021.
- Declines in cost security among adults 65 and older show that affordability challenges persist despite enrollment in Medicare and other benefits.
- Americans with chronic health conditions are less likely to be able to afford health care and treatment than those without chronic conditions. Chronic conditions often require intensive, expensive, and ongoing medical care management.
- More than half of adults with chronic conditions cannot afford their health care, treatments, and medications.
- More than 6 in 10 adults with anxiety and depression reported struggling to pay for health care and medication.
- Americans’ financial strain can be directly tied to rising health care costs. 42 percent of adults reported concern about being able to afford their prescription medications in 2025, compared to 30 percent in 2021. Worry regarding the affordability of health care services has also increased from 42 to 51 percent in the same timeframe.