Healthcare Spending Anxiety: What It Reveals About Your Money Personality

# Healthcare Spending Anxiety: What It Reveals About Your Money Personality

> **Quick answer:** A record 47% of Americans are anxious about healthcare costs in 2026, per West Health-Gallup. How you respond to that anxiety — skipping care, obsessing over invoices, or paying without looking — is directly shaped by your money personality type. Psychologist Dr. Brad Klontz identified four core "money scripts" formed in childhood that predict exactly these patterns, and knowing yours can change how you protect both your health and your finances.

Healthcare spending anxiety has hit a record high in 2026, and the way you're reacting right now says more about your psychology than your bank account. Understanding your money personality type is the first step to breaking the cycle.

## Healthcare Spending Anxiety in 2026: The Record-Breaking Numbers

The numbers are stark. According to a West Health-Gallup survey conducted in mid-2025, **47% of U.S. adults worry they won't be able to afford necessary healthcare** — the highest level recorded since tracking began in 2021.

That's not background noise. That's nearly half the country carrying chronic financial dread about something as basic as getting sick.