Nearly 100 million Americans cut spending to cover health care costs

Higher health care prices drove 38% of American adults — an estimated 98 million people — to either delay or skip treatment; cut back on driving, utilities, and food; or borrow money to pay medical bills in the last six months.

That’s according to a new survey conducted by West Health and Gallup in June, the same month inflation in the United States reached 9.1%, a new 40-year high.

The percentage of people making these kinds of tradeoffs was higher in lower-income households, but higher earners were not immune. While more than half of households earning less than $48,000 a year made spending cuts, nearly 20% of households earning more than $180,000 a year were forced to cut back, too. Women under the age of 50 also cut back on medical care and medicine at higher rates than their male counterparts (36% to 27%, respectively) and much higher than men generally (22%), according to the survey.

“People have been making tradeoffs to pay for health care for years. Inflation has only made things worse as people are also now struggling with the high price of gas, food, and electricity,” Timothy A. Lash, president of West Health says in a statement. “However, unlike those expenses, Congress has the power right now to reduce health care prices, particularly for prescription drugs. Legislation is on the table.”

Indeed, the Senate on Aug. 7 approved the $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act that (among other things) “includes a policy that allows Medicare to negotiate for the price of prescription drugs starting in 2023” and “also sets an annual cap of $2,000 on out-of-pocket costs for Medicare patients enrolled in drug plans,” according to CBSNews.com.

Even if the House passes the act and President Biden signs it — as both are expected to do soon — the majority of Americans are likely to still feel the pinch of expenses related to health care.

“Inflation is hollowing out consumer spending habits across an array of areas,” Dan Witters, a senior researcher at Gallup, says in a statement. “What is found just under the surface is that after gas and groceries, the role of inflation in reducing the pursuit of needed care is large and significant. And the rising cost of care itself, which is originating from an already elevated level, is having an outsized impact on lessening other forms of spending, compounding the problem.”

Related: Soaring health care costs squeezing consumer spending in other areas

When asked what, in the last six months, they have cut back on as a result of the higher prices of goods and services in the United States, 70% of respondents report doing one or more of the following:

• Driving less (59%)
• Cutting back on utilities (30%)
• Delaying or avoiding medical care or purchasing prescription drugs (21%)
• Skipping a meal (19%)
• Borrowing money (13%)

West Health is a collective of nonprofit and nonpartisan organizations dedicated to lowering health care costs to provide seniors access to high-quality, affordable health and support services. Gallup, meanwhile, delivers analytics and advice to leaders and organizations based on individuals’ attitudes and behaviors.