KFF Poll Reveals Healthcare Affordability Challenges Amid Rising U.S. Economic Anxiety

Recent data from the KFF Health Tracking Poll highlight rising economic anxiety in the U.S., with healthcare costs being a significant factor in financial struggles.

The survey reveals that younger adults, LGBT individuals, Hispanic communities, and those with lower to moderate incomes are disproportionately affected by difficulties earning a living and affording basic necessities including healthcare. Over half of U.S. adults report that earning a living has become harder since January 2025, with 73% of LGBT adults, 70% of households earning under $40,000, and 69% of adults aged 18-29 indicating increased hardship.

Insurance status strongly correlates with economic difficulty; uninsured adults, Medicaid recipients, and those who purchase their own insurance report higher rates of financial strain compared to individuals with employer-provided insurance or Medicare coverage. Approximately 68-72% of uninsured and Medicaid-covered adults report trouble earning a living, contrasting with 49% of employer-covered and 27% of Medicare beneficiaries.

Affordability challenges extend beyond income, as nearly 28% of adults experienced problems paying for healthcare, and 26% struggled with prescription drug costs in the past year. These affordability issues are particularly acute among lower-income and minority groups, but notably, almost 20% of individuals in households earning $90,000 or more also report difficulties affording healthcare and prescriptions.

Food and housing costs remain key concerns alongside healthcare expenses; 37% report food insecurity, and 30% have difficulty paying rent or mortgages. High proportions of LGBT adults, Black and Hispanic individuals, and younger adults report problems affording these essential costs.

Medicaid coverage provides some protection from healthcare expenses, yet around 29% of Medicaid recipients still face difficulties affording care and medications. The survey also indicates that if enhanced premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act are not extended, individuals purchasing their own insurance may face increased financial hardship.

The KFF Health Tracking Poll was conducted between October 27 and November 2, 2025, using a representative sample of 1,350 U.S. adults via online and telephone methods. The methodology accounted for demographic weighting to ensure national representativeness and applied rigorous quality controls to survey responses. The margin of error for the full sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

This data underscores the ongoing intersection of economic challenges with healthcare affordability and insurance coverage types, providing crucial insights for industry stakeholders, policymakers, and payers.

Stakeholders in the insurance market can use these findings to better understand demographic vulnerabilities and the importance of policy interventions such as premium tax credit extensions. Monitoring these trends will be essential to addressing compliance and payer/provider dynamics in healthcare affordability.