Income disparities in the affordability of health services across high-income countries, 2026

Abstract

Findings from the 2023 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey found adults in the United States face wider income-related disparities in health care affordability compared to adults in other high-income countries. In the U.S., adults with higher incomes are more likely to have health care affordability problems, including cost-related access issues and medical bill problems, than their counterparts in most other countries. On the other end, Germany and the Netherlands experienced among the lowest rates of affordability problems and the fewest income-related disparities. This presentation provides updated findings based on the newly released 2026 International Health Policy Survey to explore how financial barriers affect adults’ in 12 countries, while also identifying lessons countries can learn from one another to reduce the financial burden of health care.