Who's Skipping the Doctor Due to Cost Reasons?

Key Takeaways

• Southern states post higher shares of surveyed adults who said they skipped visiting the doctor due to cost reasons in 2023, per CDC data. 
• Notable amongst them in Texas—highest of all the states—with 18% of respondents being unable to afford healthcare.

Why Can't Texans Afford Doctor Visits?

Texas has not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and "adults under 65 who aren’t disabled or raising a child are ineligible for Medicaid regardless of how low their income is," per Healthinsurance.org.

Even parents can only qualify if their household income is extremely low (about 12–15% of the federal poverty level), which "essentially makes it impossible for the parent to hold even a part-time job, since they will lose their health coverage if their earnings go above that amount."

This results in a significant uninsured population among low-income adults in Texas, which explains why medical costs would be high, leading to them skipping the doctor.

For reference, Texas has a 13% poverty rate, 11th highest in the country.