Roughly one-third of U.S. adults — or more than 82 million people — cut back on basic needs such as food, utilities or transportation to pay for health care in the past year, according to new Gallup surveys.
One survey of nearly 20,000 U.S. adults conducted from June through August 2025 found that 62% of uninsured Americans made at least one sacrifice to pay for health care, including 32% who borrowed funds and 24% who prolonged their medication, Gallup reported.
Slightly more than half of households earning less than $24,000 per year responded this way, but Gallup noted that health care