Reaching the highest level since 2021, 11% of U.S. adults are considered “cost desperate,” a group Gallup defines as those who recently could not afford needed care and medicine. Overall, more than one-third of U.S. adults report they cannot access quality, affordable healthcare.
Gallup and West Health surveyed 6,296 adults in late 2024 for their annual Healthcare Indices Study. Since 2021, the share of cost desperate Americans has increased most significantly among Hispanic adults (18%), Black adults (14%) and households earning less than $24,000 annually (25%), according to survey results released April 2.
The survey found no meaningful change among white adults or middle- to high-income households. Disparities in healthcare access across race, ethnicity and income are at their highest point since this annual survey began in 2021.
In the past year, 64% of households earning under $48,000 (up 11 percentage points from 2023) and 57% of households earning between $24,000 and $48,000 (up 12 points) reported difficulty accessing affordable healthcare.
The proportion of Americans who are “cost secure” — those with access to quality care who can afford both care and medication — has dropped to a record low of 51%.
With 35% of Americans reporting they are unable to access affordable, quality care, Gallup and West Health said this “erosion of cost security in healthcare” reveals “that the already-existing gap between haves and have-nots in affording care is now bigger than ever.”
