Healthcare is Americans' top economic concern

According to a January poll of just over 1,400 Americans from KFF, healthcare topped Americans' economic worries, with 66% of respondents saying they are "somewhat" or "very" worried about healthcare costs — more than the number of respondents who said the same for food, groceries, rent, or mortgage.

In addition, the poll found that one in five respondents said that their healthcare costs have increased at a faster rate than their monthly utilities and their food costs. This includes at least one in four respondents with employer-sponsored insurance and around a third of those who purchase their own insurance.

"I think it tells you something about where we are — even people with insurance are worried," said Ezekiel Emanuel, a medical ethicist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania. The cost "makes people think twice about whether to get an ambulance or even just go to the doctor," he added. "This is a terrible place for the country to be."

A third of Americans have made a trade-off to pay for healthcare

Meanwhile, a poll from West Health and Gallup of nearly 20,000 U.S. adults that was conducted between June and August 2025 found that roughly one-third of respondents — equivalent to more than 82 million Americans — said they've made at least one trade-off with their daily living expenses in order to afford healthcare.

This includes 15% of respondents who said they've borrowed money and 11% of respondents who said they've skipped a meal to help pay for their healthcare expenses.

A separate poll from West Health and Gallup of 5,660 U.S. adults conducted from October to December 2025 found that Americans have also been delaying life events or changes within the past four years because of healthcare costs.

Almost one in 10 adults said they postponed their retirement because of healthcare costs, and twice as many reported delaying a job change. In addition, 14% said they put off buying a new home and 6% said they postponed growing their family.

Job-based coverage takes up varying shares of income depending on location

In addition, an analysis from the Commonwealth Fund that broke down state-by-state data on how much people spent on their healthcare premiums and deductibles in 2024 found that these costs took up 10% or more of median family income in 19 states.

Specifically, the share of income people spent on premiums and deductibles for family coverage ranged from a high of 15.6% in Louisiana to a low of 5.7% in Washington, D.C.

Premiums alone exceeded the threshold of what the federal government considers "affordable" in five states:

• Louisiana (10.7%)
• Florida (9.3%)
• North Carolina (8.8%)
• Mississippi (8.8%)
• West Virginia (8.6%)

In half of the states, large deductibles threatened to make workers either skip care or take on medical debt, with Kentucky having the highest deductibles as a percentage of income.