Health insurance keeps many Americans trapped in unwanted jobs

Nearly one in four U.S. workers (24%) say they are currently in a job they want to quit but stay with their employer for the health insurance, according to new research from the West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America. The share of workers experiencing "job lock" has been increasing steadily, rising eight percentage points since 2021, suggesting health insurance coverage is becoming a major consideration for career decisions and economic mobility.

The numbers run higher for workers holding personal or household medical debt (20%) who are more than twice as likely to stay in unwanted jobs because they fear losing their health insurance (44% vs. 21%). People who borrowed money in the past year were also significantly more likely to report job lock (37% vs. 22%).

Beyond current debt holders or new borrowers, nearly half (48%) of Americans who consider healthcare costs a major financial burden also find themselves locked in jobs they do not want out of fear something might happen that would require health insurance. The same is true for a majority of workers (53%) who report experiencing "a lot" of daily stress related to the cost of healthcare.

"That so many Americans feel compelled to stay in jobs they no longer want simply to keep their health insurance underscores how healthcare affordability influences decisions far beyond any immediate or future illness or condition," said Tim Lash, President, West Health Policy Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization focused on healthcare and aging policy. "No one should have to choose between seeking a better opportunity or maintaining access to health insurance. Yet for millions of Americans, the high cost of healthcare has left them facing this exact choice."

According to data from the recent West Health-Gallup Affordability Index, just 49% of U.S. adults say they can afford access to quality care and have been able to pay for physician and clinic visits and prescription drugs in recent months - the first time in five years that fewer than half of Americans report an ability to consistently afford healthcare.

Chronic conditions increase reliance on employer coverage

Workers with chronic health conditions experience job lock at higher levels than healthier workers (29% vs.17%), with the incidence of job lock increasing as a person's number of chronic conditions increases. More than 40% of workers with three or more chronic conditions report remaining in unwanted jobs for insurance coverage.

Elevated rates are also seen among those with conditions that often require ongoing or intensive treatment, such as asthma (29%) and immune-compromising conditions (36%). Workers with depression and anxiety also report higher-than-average levels of job lock (35% and 33%, respectively).

Women more likely to experience job lock

Women are more likely to report staying in a job they would prefer to leave to maintain their health insurance. Three in 10 report this situation, compared with 20% of men. The gender gap coincides with broader disparities in healthcare-related burdens. Women are more likely to report healthcare-related financial stress (56%), medical debt (22%) and multiple chronic conditions (66%), all factors that may contribute to higher rates of job lock.

Joe Daly, Global Managing Partner at GallupHealth insurance continues to play an important role in how Americans navigate the labor market. As job lock has become more common among workers with employer-sponsored coverage since 2021, the findings offer insight into how healthcare benefits may factor into decisions about staying in a job or pursuing other opportunities."

Methodology

For data from 2025, results are based on a Gallup Panel study conducted Oct. 27-Dec. 22, 2025, and completed by 5,660 U.S. adults ages 18 and older who are members of the Gallup Panel. The sample for this study was weighted to be demographically representative of the U.S. adult population using the most recent Current Population Survey figures. For results based on this sample, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±2.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. Margins of error are higher for subsamples. For data from 2021, results are based on a similar survey (n=4,843) conducted Sept. 27-30 and Oct. 18-21, 2021.

Source:

West Health Institute