About one in three U.S. adults, roughly 82 million people, now report cutting back on basic expenses such as food, utilities or driving so they can afford healthcare, according to a new national survey. The West Health–Gallup Center polled nearly 20,000 adults in 2025 and found people are rationing prescriptions, borrowing money and putting big life decisions on hold as costs keep rising. Those trade‑offs are showing up across the income spectrum, from uninsured households to some higher earners.
Prescription Rationing And Borrowing Are Widespread
According to West Health, the most commonly reported actions were prescription rationing or non‑adherence (15%) and borrowing money (15%). The web survey ran from June 9 to Aug. 25, 2025, and included 19,535 adults, with a design‑effect‑adjusted margin of error of about ±1.3 percentage points. West Health framed the pattern as evidence that the system is failing, calling it “a systems failure” in its release.
Life Plans Are Being Postponed
A separate West Health–Gallup poll of 5,660 adults found that people are delaying major milestones because of health costs. As reported by Gallup, an estimated 24 million Americans say they have postponed retirement, 26% delayed surgical or medical treatments, 18% delayed changing jobs and 14% put off buying a home. Joe Daly, Gallup’s global managing partner, said the results highlight “the relationship between healthcare affordability and long‑term life planning.”
Lower‑Income And Uninsured Households Hurt Most
West Health reports that the strain is most acute among households earning under $24,000 annually (55%) and those without insurance (62%), although middle‑income and even some higher‑income households also reported sacrifices. Roughly one quarter of households earning $90,000 to $120,000 and about 11% of households making $240,000 or more said they have cut back to cover medical costs. Those figures suggest that affordability pressures now reach well beyond the uninsured.
Why This Matters For Policy
Gallup’s reporting warns that worry about affording care is at its highest level since West Health and Gallup began tracking in 2021 and points to policy shifts, including the scheduled expiration of enhanced ACA premium tax credits at the end of 2025, as a driver of rising premiums and out‑of‑pocket costs. As Gallup notes, the combination of higher costs and eroding subsidies could push more households into painful financial trade‑offs.
What This Means For Readers
Local coverage from KABB/FOX San Antonio picked up the West Health–Gallup findings and highlighted how insured people, not just the uninsured, are trimming essentials. Respondents described stretching prescriptions, skipping meals and cutting utilities, choices that can worsen health outcomes in the short term. For families juggling rent, food and medical bills, the report offers fresh evidence that healthcare costs are reshaping everyday budgets.
West Health and Gallup publish full datasets and state breakdowns for readers who want to dig deeper. Their findings are likely to factor into policy debates as lawmakers consider subsidies, out‑of‑pocket caps and measures to lower prescription costs.
