Melanie D'Arrigo calls healthcare 'profitable and exploitative' as affordability concerns rise

Democratic politician Melanie D'Arrigo painted a grim picture of healthcare costs in the country as more and more Americans struggle to afford quality healthcare services. Sharing an ABC News report, she stated that less than 49% of Americans could afford healthcare, the lowest since tracking such data began back in 2021. D'Arrigo urged people to demand Medicare and end the corruption in the government.

"Healthcare in the US isn't supposed to be affordable or accessible because our healthcare system is designed to be profitable and exploitative," she wrote on X. "And it's protected by the politicians taking money from the companies profiting." The ABC News report cited data released by Gallup, a renowned global analytics and public opinion company, which came up with what it calls the "Healthcare Affordability Index" in 2021. The latest data comes from a survey conducted between October and December of 2025.

It states that in a year, 2.8 million Americans said they were not financially secure enough to afford quality healthcare or pay for visits and prescriptions. The data also suggested that 40% of Americans are worried about how much healthcare costs will increase in the future. Gallup's index claims that one in three households earning between $120,000 and $180,000 a year do not feel financially secure, and that one in five households earning above $180,000 feel the same way.

Young adults aged 18-29 have also seen a sharp decline in healthcare affordability, as those believing they are financially secure dropped by seven percentage points in a year. Between 2021 and 2024, the difference between men and women in being able to afford healthcare was at 9%. The gap widened to 15% in 2025. Hospital prices have also increased 3,4% in 2024, and the cost of medical insurance premiums went up 20% after the Affordable Care Act subsidies expired.

D'Arrigo is not the only one who has raised concerns about healthcare costs for Americans. Rep. Shontel Brown slammed the Trump administration, saying that cuts to healthcare were bad for both citizens and the economy. "The healthcare and nutrition assistance cuts in Trump's Big Ugly Law aren't just bad for families and people in need - they're bad for our economy," she wrote in a post on X.

Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich claimed that the United States had the highest healthcare costs and delivered the worst health outcomes among "rich countries." Affordable healthcare is becoming a major election issue as well, just a few months before the midterms. According to CBS News,  healthcare cost concerns are a major campaign agenda in the Nevada Governor race.

Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo is running for reelection against  Democratic state Attorney General Aaron Ford. While Lombardo has the endorsement of President Donald Trump, healthcare policy changes made by the Trump administration may be more of a bane. The changes include cuts to Medicaid and new work requirements and eligibility rules for Medicaid and SNAP.