Although 9 in 10 U.S. adults have health insurance, having sick, uninsured or underinsured family members may lead to medical bills that put a strain on household budgets, according to a Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker report. In 2024, about 17% of adults reported delaying or not getting health care because of cost, including those who delayed or did not get medical or mental health care and those who rationed prescription drugs.
"Health care is the household expense that worries people the most, even more than monthly utilities, food, rent or mortgage, and gasoline or transportation costs," the report said. "About two-thirds of adults say they worry about being able to afford health care expenses for themselves and their family, including 32% of adults who are very worried and 34% of adults who are somewhat worried."
Among other findings in the report:
- About 1 in 12 adults rationed prescription drugs because of cost. Eight percent reported rationing prescribed medication because of cost and 6% did not get needed medication to save money. Recent KFF polling found that about one quarter of adults report that they or someone living with them had problems paying for prescription drugs.
- The share of adults forgoing medical care and prescription drugs has remained steady since the pandemic. The percentage of adults reporting that they did not get medical care or did not take medicine as prescribed because of cost peaked in 2019 before declining throughout 2020 during the pandemic. The decline is due at least in part to people skipping care because of COVID-19, not cost.
- Black adults and those who are younger than 65, in worse health or uninsured are more likely to delay or forgo health care because of cost. Adults who were uninsured at any point during the year reported delaying or forgoing health care because of cost more than twice as often as those who were insured. Beyond insurance status, race, age and baseline health all affect peoples' ability to afford health care.
- Nearly half of adults worry about their ability to pay medical bills if they get sick or have an accident. Forty-five percent report being worried about their ability to pay medical bills if they get sick or have an accident. Three-quarters of uninsured adults worry about being able to pay medical bills in case of an illness or accident.
- At all income levels, uninsured adults are more likely to ration health care because of cost. Adults with incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level are more likely to delay or go without health care because of cost than those with incomes between 200% and 400% or above 400% of the poverty level.
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