49% of U.S. Adults Classified as Cost Secure for Healthcare in 2025 Survey, Down from 61% in 2022

U.S. adults were classified as “cost secure” for healthcare in 2025, down from 61 percent in 2022 and 56 percent in 2021, according to the West Health-Gallup Affordability Index released Thursday. The survey of 5,660 adults, conducted October 27 to December 22, 2025, placed respondents into categories based on access to quality care and ability to pay for treatment and medicine.

1 percentage points. About three-quarters of respondents said healthcare costs were a major or minor financial burden. About half said they were extremely concerned or concerned that their household would be unable to pay for needed care in 2026, up from 42 percent who expressed that view in 2022.

More than half of respondents said healthcare costs contributed a lot or some stress to daily life. Twannetta Weaver, 43, of Sanford, Florida, enrolled in a high-deductible employer plan to keep premiums low.

In 2025 she slipped a disk in her back and needed medication and physical therapy. The bills forced her to delay graduation from a leadership degree program by one year. ” Weaver said. ” Inger Perez, 59, of Encino, Texas, has a family history of diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer.

Xavier Chapa, 55, of Arizona, said his wife received a $3,000 bill for a preventive colonoscopy after the insurer initially indicated coverage. The family reduced their 8-year-old son’s summer camp from full-day to half-day programs. About 2 in 10 adults said they or a household member could not pay for prescribed medicine in the prior three months.

About 3 in 10 said they or a household member skipped treatment for a health problem because of cost. Younger adults, women, and older adults all recorded declines in the share classified as cost secure. Among those under 30 the figure fell to about one-third from 46 percent in 2021.