Record-high number of adults postponed medical treatment due to cost in 2022: Poll
Cami Mondeaux
More than a third of people reported postponing medical treatment due to high costs in 2022, marking the highest percentage recorded in 22 years, according to a new poll.
Over the last year, roughly 38% of respondents reported that either they or a family member pushed off medical treatment because of how much it would cost, according to a new poll from Gallup. The most recent numbers show an increase of 12 percentage points from 2021 and mark a record-high since Gallup began gathering such data in 2001.
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Respondents were twice as likely to delay medical treatments that were deemed “serious” compared to those that were “nonserious,” according to the poll. Of those who postponed treatment, 27% said it was for a “very” or “somewhat” serious condition or illness, while only 11% said it was for a “not very” or “not at all” serious condition or illness.
“With high inflation creating moderate to severe hardship for a majority of Americans in the second half of 2022, their reports of delaying medical care in general due to cost — as well as delaying care for a serious condition — rose sharply to new highs,” Gallup research consultant Megan Brenan wrote. “Young adults, those in lower-income households and women were especially likely to say they or a family member had put off medical care.”
About 34% of low-income adults reported canceling a medical treatment in 2022 compared to just 18% of high-income adults, according to the poll.
However, the percentage of high-income and middle-income adults who delayed medical care due to costs in 2022 grew compared to previous years, with 29% of middle-income adults reporting postponements — a record high. The number of postponements among high-income respondents was the second highest on record, falling only below 2015, when 19% of the demographic reported delaying treatment.
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Young adults were far more likely to delay their treatments than older adults, with 35% of adults aged 18 to 49 reporting postponements compared to 25% for those aged 50 to 64 and 13% for those 65 and older, according to the poll.
The Gallup poll surveyed 1,020 adults across the United States between Nov. 9 and Dec. 2 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.