Americans skipping meals or cutting back on other needs to afford health care, poll finds

Americans are feeling the squeeze on their finances to the extent that some are scaling back on at least one daily expense and even skipping meals to afford health care costs. 

Gallup released a new poll revealing that some people are cutting back on broader expenses like utilities, driving less to save money on gas to cover health expenses, and even rationing doses of prescription drugs or borrowing money. 

RELATED: Most Americans worry about higher health care costs in 2026, poll finds

The poll consisted of nearly 20,000 people and was conducted from June through August 2025 by the West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America, a partnership between Gallup and West Health, a group of nonprofits focused on health care costs.

One-third of Americans cutting back on daily expenses to afford health care

Why you should care:

According to Gallup, about one-third of respondents  — which equates to over 82 million Americans — admit they have made at least one trade-off with daily living expenses to afford healthcare.

RELATED: Two-thirds of Americans say government should ensure health care for all: poll

The analytics and advisory company pointed out in their report that this type of fiscal budgeting is common for individuals without health insurance. Approximately 62% say they have made at least one sacrifice to pay for healthcare, including 32% who have borrowed money and 24% who have extended medication. Meanwhile, Americans with insurance, nearly three in 10 said they have made at least one daily sacrifice.

Some Americans admit to skipping meals to cover health care costs  

Dig deeper:

Approximately 11% of respondents said they had skipped a meal in the past year to pay for their health care costs, according to the first poll on Americans’ daily spending, while another 15% admitted that they had borrowed money or prolonged a current drug prescription. 

This trend was also high among Americans without health insurance, with 62% of them saying they made at least one financial trade-off to pay for health care expenses.

Life events delayed covering health care expenses

Big picture view:

Respondents in another Galup poll admitted to having to postpone life events to cover their health care costs. This poll consisted of 5,660 Americans conducted by the West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America from October to December 2025.

Based on their rising health care expenses, Americans in the poll said they had to delay a life event or change within the past four years, like buying a new home or taking a vacation.

Additionally, almost one in 10 adults — a projected 24 million — admit they have postponed their retirement due to healthcare costs. Approximately (18%) said they delayed a job change, while 14% admitted that they delayed buying a new home and 6% say they have postponed growing their family.

Meanwhile, delays to major life events and goals related to health care costs expand to household incomes nationwide. According to the poll, roughly half of those in households making between $48,000 and $180,000 annually report postponing at least one of these life decisions in the past four years because of health care expenses.

And households earning more money per year are also impacted by the health care costs. Gallup noted that 34% of Americans in households earning $180,000 to less than $240,000 annually and 25%of households earning about $240,000 said they delayed life events because of healthcare costs.