According to the latest data from the West Health–Gallup Affordability Index, only 49% of U.S. adults are able to afford quality care and have been able to pay for healthcare visits and prescriptions in recent months, marking a five-year low in healthcare affordability. The number of people able to afford quality healthcare has been on a steady decline since 2022, when affordability was the highest. In 2025, 2.8 million more Americans reported inability to afford healthcare. “Healthcare affordability is moving in the wrong direction,” West Health Institute chief medical officer, Zia Agha, MD, told Healio. “Notably, financial barriers are increasing...