Healthcare Costs Top Americans' Financial Concerns

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup's monthly update on Americans' most pressing financial concerns finds Americans worried about healthcare costs, a general lack of money or low wages, and having high levels of debt. There has been little change in Americans' financial concerns in recent months. From a longer-range perspective, the most significant change is the decrease in worry about gasoline prices. Earlier this year, when gas prices reached record highs in some parts of the country, the percentage of Americans saying gas prices were their top financial problem jumped as high as 20%. As might be expected, Americans' assessments of their financial problems vary significantly by household income level, age, and race.

The poll, conducted Nov. 9-12, 2006, asked Americans, without prompting, to name the "most important financial problem facing your family today." The overall results show that 17% of Americans mention healthcare costs as their family's top financial concern right now, followed by lack of money and low wages, at 14%, and a high level of debt or not enough money to pay off debts, at 10%. Fewer than 1 in 10 Americans mention college expenses (9%), costs of owning or renting a home (8%), energy costs (7%), retirement savings, (6%), or cost of living or inflation (5%). Sixteen percent of Americans mention no financial problems.

In recent months, there has not been a significant change in Americans' financial worries, with the exception of fuel prices. Throughout the year, the percentage of Americans mentioning fuel prices as their top financial problem has fluctuated almost correspondingly with the changes in gas prices across the country. At its highpoint in May, 20% of Americans said fuel prices were their top financial problem. More recently, this percentage was a high as 16% in August but has since gradually declined. Now, just 7% mention fuel prices as their foremost financial problem.

Gallup asked this question about the most important financial problem three times in the last three months. In order to better understand variations in financial worries across different groups of Americans, the following analysis examines the results of more than 3,000 interviews conducted across those surveys.

Lower vs. Higher Income Households

Household income is strongly related to the specific type of concerns Americans have about their family finances. Americans residing in households earning less than $30,000 per year more frequently mention day-to-day concerns, such as low wages or lack of money, healthcare costs, and debt, as their top financial problems. In contrast, Americans residing in households earning $75,000 or more mention more long-term issues, like college expenses or retirement.

As the table illustrates, lack of money and low wages and healthcare costs are essentially tied as the top financial problem for those earning less than $30,000 per year, at 22% and 18% respectively. These problems are followed by too much debt or lack of money to pay debts, at 13%. Americans at this income level are at least twice as likely as those earning more to mention lack of money and low wages.

The most important financial problems for those earning between $30,000 and $74,999 per year include healthcare costs (16%), lack of money or low wages (13%), and debt (10%).

Among Americans residing in household earning $75,000 or more per year, the top financial problems are college expenses (15%), healthcare costs (12%), and retirement savings (11%). Americans at this income level are at least twice as likely as those in lower-income households to mention college costs or retirement savings as their top concerns.

Younger vs. Older Americans

Americans' financial problems also vary among people in different age groups. In general, younger Americans -- those under age 50 -- are more likely than older Americans to mention a high level of debt or college expenses as their top financial problem. Senior citizens are most concerned about healthcare costs; seniors also are more likely than younger adults to mention no financial problem at all. And, Americans approaching retirement age -- those aged 50 to 64 -- are more likely than Americans in other age groups to express concerns about retirement savings.

Whites vs. Blacks

There are also some slight variations between whites and blacks in assessments of their family's current top financial problems. Among whites, the top financial concerns are healthcare costs (17%) and a lack of money or low wages (11%), while among blacks, the top concerns are a lack of money (22%), too much debt (13%), and healthcare costs (11%). Blacks are more than twice as likely as whites to mention low wages or lack of money as their top financial problem.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,004 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Nov. 9-12, 2006. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.