The cost of American health care is a crisis, says a new report, and Americans fear its effects not just on them but also on the economy as a whole.

“The U.S. Healthcare Cost Crisis,” from West Health and Gallup, finds that nearly half of Americans—45 percent—fear ending up in bankruptcy thanks to a major health event. And even more are afraid of what health care costs could do to the economy, with 71 percent saying they fear escalating costs will cause “significant and lasting damage.”

They have some pretty valid reasons to worry. Almost half—47 percent—“never know what a visit to the emergency room will cost before receiving care,” and that's before the “surprise” bills kick in: the ones that come from out-of-network providers working in an in-network hospital.

And enough are so worried about it that 41 percent have skipped a visit to the emergency room in the past year over what it might cost.

And the picture isn't pretty for the ones who have received care. Americans have borrowed a whopping $88 billion in the last year to pay for health care, while 65 million adults have skipped getting health care for an issue in the past 12 months because of what it would cost.

The sad thing is that people disagree along party lines about the quality of health care in the U.S. Other countries do better health care, and do it more cheaply, but 67 percent of Republicans think U.S. health care is either the best or among the best in the world—even though that's not true.

In just a single field—infant mortality—the U.S. is near the bottom, not the top, of the quality scale, coming in at 31st out of 36 developed countries for the care it provides.

The picture's not much prettier in other areas, either; the U.S. ranks 28th in life expectancy of residents, 16th in heart attack mortality, and sadly, first in the highest health care costs per person. And 76 percent of Americans overall say they're paying too much for the quality of the care they receive.

Incidentally, just 38 percent of Democrats think U.S. care is the best or among the best.

Americans aren't expecting things to get any better any time soon, with 76 percent expecting prices to keep rising in the next two years. Just 6 percent are optimistically expecting those prices to fall.

According to the report, the pessimists are probably on the right side of the debate, with health spending projected to rise to $5.7 trillion in 2026, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Health care spending hits record high

The top drivers of medical costs in 2019

Instant Insights /

Americans fear health care costs could bankrupt them, hurt economy

More From HR Executive

Related Stories

Recommended For You