Nearly half of Americans worry they can't afford health care: Survey

Almost half U.S. adults are worried they won't be able to afford needed health care in the coming year, according to a West Health-Gallup survey — the highest level recorded since the organizations began tracking the measure in 2021.

Why it matters: Challenges to the public's health and financial wellbeing are expected to loom large heading into the midterm election cycle.

• Affordability concerns already are driving the congressional debate over whether to renew enhanced Affordable Care Act enhanced tax credits and President Trump's drug price deals.

What they found: Only about half of U.S. adults (51%) believe basic health care is affordable and accessible — a 10 percentage point drop since 2022.

• Affordability among Black and Hispanic Americans has dropped by 13 and 17 points to 41% and 34%, respectively, while it's remained steady for white Americans at 58%.
• 1 in 5 Americans say that they or someone in their household couldn't pay for prescription medications in the past three months.

West Health and Gallup tallied self-reported health care experiences in the every state and the District of Columbia, finding Iowa ranked first for cost, quality and access while Alaska ranked last.

• The survey of 19,535 adults was conducted from June 9 to August 25.