Cost of health care forcing Americans to put off treatments

The high cost of health care is causing Americans to postpone treatments. A new Gallup poll says those postponing treatments rose 12 points to 38%, the highest in the Gallup’s 22-year trend.

This change came amid the highest inflation rate in the U.S. in more than 40 years, which acerbated American difficulty in making ends meet. A majority of U.S. adults have said inflation is creating at least a moderate hardship for them. The public continues to view the state of the U.S. economy negatively, and Americans were more likely to name inflation as the most important problem facing the U.S. in 2022 than at any time since 1984.

The latest double-digit increase in delaying medical treatment came on the heels of two consecutive 26% readings during the COVID-19 pandemic that were the lowest since 2004. The previous high point in the trend was 33% in 2014 and 2019. An average 29% of U.S. adults reported putting off medical treatment because of cost between 2001 and 2021.

There were also significant age differences in reports of postponing care in 2022, with young and middle-aged adults much more likely than older adults to say they or a family member delayed medical care for a serious condition.

A new high of 35% of adults aged 18 to 49 say they or someone in their family put off care, while 25% of those aged 50 to 64 and 13% of those aged 65 and older say the same. The readings are up 12 points among those younger than 50, up 10 points among 50- to 64-year-olds, and up six points among those aged 65 and older.

Read more: Employees are putting off health care needs due to financial stress

When looking at by gender, 32% of women and 20% of men reported last year putting off medical treatment, representing a 12-point increase from 2021 for women and a five-point increase for men. The resulting 12-point gender gap is well above the seven-point average gender gap since 2001.