Health Care Affordability in the United States, From Crisis to Action
Updated: April 30, 2026
- Experts warn that U.S. health care affordability has reached crisis levels, as national health spending has now surpassed $5 trillion a year.
- The advisory describes how rising health costs—driven by factors such as high prices for treatments and services, chronic disease, administrative complexity, and underinvestment in prevention—are leading to delayed or forgone care, worsening health outcomes and increasing medical debt.
- To help guide solutions, AHA proposes five principles for action, including ensuring access to high-quality care without financial hardship; reducing cost-sharing for high-value preventive services; promoting shared accountability across stakeholders; investing in workforce, infrastructure, and data; and addressing the root causes of health inequities.
Health Care Affordability in the United States, From Crisis to Action
In this video, Stacey E. Rosen, MD, FAHA, 2025–2026 volunteer president of the American Heart Association, and Dhruv Kazi, MD, PhD, chair of the writing group, discuss the key cost drivers, the role of inequities and medical debt, and the guiding principles proposed to advance high value, affordable care. The advisory emphasizes collaboration, investment in prevention and public health, and shared responsibility to improve cardiovascular and overall health outcomes without financial hardship.
Recommended Reading
- Advancing Healthcare Reform: The American Heart Association’s 2020 Statement of Principles for Adequate, Accessible, and Affordable Health Care
- Forecasting the Economic Burden of Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke in the United States through 2050
- Forecasting the Burden of Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke in the United States through 2050—Prevalence of Risk factors and Disease