Since 2006, 30% of Americans each year on average have delayed any sort of medical treatment for cost, according to the polling firm Gallup. In that time, 19% of Americans each year on average have delayed treatment for a serious condition, according to Gallup’s December 2019 report. More Americans are afraid of paying for healthcare if they became seriously ill (40%) than are afraid of getting seriously ill (33%), according to a 2018 poll by the University of Chicago and the West Health Institute.