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A new report from West Health and Gallup shows how routine healthcare costs are reshaping household finances for tens of millions of Americans.

Instead of drawing on savings, many are borrowing, cutting back on basics or postponing major decisions to stay current on medical bills.

According to the survey, about 1 in 7 Americans had to borrow money in the past year to cover healthcare expenses. That translates to an estimated tens of billions of dollars in medical borrowing, much of it on credit cards or personal loans, for routine care rather than big-ticket procedures. For households already carrying other balances, some are now looking at consolidation tools that match borrowers with lenders for a personal loan aimed at simplifying payments and potentially lowering their rate.

The report also found that 15% of Americans have rationed prescriptions—skipping doses, splitting pills or not filling a prescription—in order to manage costs. That behavior shows up across income groups and carries clear clinical risks, since untreated or under-treated conditions often lead to more intensive and expensive care later.

In practice, that means the same families juggling co-pays and deductibles are also deciding which bills to prioritize each month, a calculation that could call on a restructure of high-interest medical and household debt into a single, fixed-rate loan.

In total, about one-third of adults—more than 80 million people—reported making at least one significant trade-off in the last year to pay for healthcare. Those decisions range from cutting back on everyday necessities, including food and utilities, to delaying major milestones like buying a home or retiring. For borrowers who are already in that position, tools that help them compare consolidation offers in one place, like AmONE's network of personal loan providers, have become one way to turn a cluster of medical and consumer balances into a more predictable monthly line item.

The strain is most acute among people with low incomes and those without insurance. Roughly 62% of uninsured adults and 55% of households earning less than $24,000 a year reported making financial trade-offs to afford care, according to the West Health–Gallup data.

For these groups, a new bill can mean skipped meals, missed rent or unpaid utility balances.

But the burden reaches much higher up the income scale than the stereotype of medical debt might suggest. About one-quarter of adults in households earning between $90,000 and $120,000 reported making sacrifices to pay for care. Even among those earning $240,000 or more, roughly 1 in 10 said they had to adjust their finances because of healthcare costs.

"When families across every income level are forced to choose between medical bills and paying their heating or electric bill —  that's not a personal budgeting problem — it's a systems failure.," said Tim Lash, president of the West Health Policy Center, in a statement on the findings.

The financial shock is also altering longer-term plans.

In a separate West Health–Gallup survey, 26% of respondents said they had delayed medical or surgical treatments over the past four years due to cost. Fourteen percent reported postponing a home purchase, and 9% said they have put off retirement. Another 6% said they had delayed having or adopting a child because of concerns about healthcare expenses.

The data suggests that the heavier the perceived financial burden of healthcare, the more likely people are to postpone major life decisions. Among those who describe healthcare costs as a "major" burden, a large majority reported delaying at least one significant step, from changing jobs to moving or starting a family.

Nearly half of U.S. adults (47%) now say they are worried they will not be able to afford needed healthcare in the coming year, the highest level of concern recorded since West Health and Gallup began tracking the measure several years ago. For people who are already in repayment mode, consolidating medical and related high-interest debt into a personal loan through AmONE can make cash flow more manageable.

Researchers and advocates say the numbers underscore how quickly medical bills can destabilize even relatively solid household balance sheets, and how little margin many families have when premiums, deductibles and drug prices keep rising faster than wages.

"What stands out in these findings is the relationship between healthcare affordability and long-term life planning," Joe Daly, Global Managing Partner at Gallup, said of the survey. "The data offer measurable insight into how Americans are experiencing cost pressures within the healthcare system and how those experiences are influencing their broader financial decisions."

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This article 1 in 7 Americans Borrowed for Healthcare — 11% Even Skipped Meals to Pay Medical Bills originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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