Nearly 46m Americans would be unable to afford quality healthcare in an emergency

A survey found nearly twice as many Black Americans as white Americans would not be able to pay the costs of a sudden medical bill

An estimated 46 million Americans said they would be unable to afford quality healthcare if they needed it today, a new Gallup survey has found. The survey also found wide racial and economic disparities in who believes they can afford healthcare.

Nearly twice as many Black Americans as white Americans said they would not be able to pay for healthcare, at 29% versus 16% respectively. More than one in three low-income Americans, or 35%, said they were unable to pay for needed healthcare in the last 12 months during the Covid-19 pandemic.