Americans Skip Meals and Delay Life Dreams Due to Healthcare Costs

Unprecedented Sacrifices for Medical Bills

Healthcare costs have reached a breaking point for millions of Americans, forcing them to make unthinkable choices between basic necessities and medical care. Roughly one-third of respondents – equivalent to more than 82 million Americans – said they have had to cut back on at least one daily living expense to cover their health care bills , according to new research from the West Health-Gallup Center.

The scale of these sacrifices is staggering. Eleven percent of respondents said they had skipped a meal in the past year to meet health care costs , while fifteen percent said they had borrowed money or prolonged a current drug prescription . These aren't just statistics about the uninsured or those living in poverty – the pain cuts across income levels in ways that challenge our assumptions about middle-class security.

Life Dreams Put on Hold

Beyond daily expenses, healthcare costs are fundamentally reshaping how Americans plan their futures. Nearly one in 10 adults — or an estimated 24 million Americans — say they have postponed their retirement due to healthcare costs. Twice as many (18%) report delaying a job change, while 14% report putting off buying a new home and 6% say they have postponed growing their family .

The survey reveals a troubling pattern: as many as 37 million people put off buying a home, 46 million delayed changing jobs, and 40 million scrapped plans to pursue additional education or job training . These decisions ripple through the economy, affecting everything from housing markets to workforce mobility and educational advancement.

Middle Class Under Pressure

Perhaps most surprising is how these pressures extend well into the middle and upper-middle class. About half of those in households earning between $48,000 and $180,000 per year report putting off at least one of these decisions in the past four years due to healthcare costs . Even more striking, one-third of adults (34%) in households earning $180,000 to less than $240,000 annually, and one-fourth (25%) in households earning at least $240,000, reported delaying life events .

This data challenges the notion that health insurance alone provides adequate protection. The trend was most pronounced among Americans who don't have health insurance, 62 percent of whom said they made at least one financial trade-off to pay for health care , but the problem clearly extends far beyond the uninsured population.

A System Creating Its Own Crisis

The current situation creates a dangerous feedback loop. West Health-Gallup estimated that almost 70 million Americans delayed surgery or another medical treatment over the period studied — a phenomenon that can worsen the inflationary spiral. Forgoing care can make people sicker and require more procedures, tests, drugs and more .

These findings suggest that healthcare costs have moved beyond being just a policy issue – they're now a fundamental constraint on the American Dream itself. When families earning six figures are postponing homeownership and retirement because of medical expenses, it signals a system that has lost its way. The challenge ahead lies not just in making healthcare more affordable, but in rebuilding an economy where medical needs don't force impossible choices between health and financial security.