Patrick Temple-West in Bethlehem | October 5, 2026
Jason King Jones paid less than $100 to have a cancerous tumour removed in 2022. Four years later and facing another cancer scare, Jones has nearly $1,000 in healthcare bills for similar services. Jones has spent hours on the phone fighting to get money reimbursed from health services. 'The quality of health insurance coverage has declined,' said the 50-year-old from Center Valley, Pennsylvania. 'It feels like more burden is being put on the individual.'
Jones' mushrooming medical costs highlight a crisis in the US healthcare sector. As an ageing population puts pressure on the system, higher demand for services has pushed up labour costs and encouraged hospital consolidation that has sparked disputes with insurance companies. The result has left America with a health economy that is at war with itself — and patients footing the bill. 'It is a good system, but it has its flaws,' said Richard Anderson, chief executive of St Luke's University Health Network.
The pain has worsened as Donald Trump's tariffs and the war in Iran drive up inflation in the wider US economy. The Trump administration's flagship tax and spending bill also made it more difficult for elderly, low-income and disabled people to qualify for government-subsidised healthcare. The Congressional Budget Office estimated in June last year that the legislation would increase the number of Americans without health insurance by 7.8mn in 2034, adding more financial strain to hospitals. At the same time, people covered under former president Barack Obama's landmark Affordable Care Act, which offered cheaper health insurance, are facing a 58 per cent increase on average this year, partly because Congress let enhanced tax credits on certain plans expire last year, according to non-profit KFF.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing