If You’re a Woman, Under 50, or Dealing with Mental Health or Respiratory Illness in America, You’re More Likely to Be Healthcare “Cost Insecure”
One-half of people living in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2025 said they could afford health care in America, according to research from Gallup and West-Health discussed in U.S. Adults’ Ability to Afford Healthcare at a Five-Year Low. Gallup and West Health polled 5,660 adults aged 18 and older between October and December 2025 as part of the organizations’ Affordability Index. This research defines Americans’ health care financial access in three tiers: Cost Secure, when people say they have access to quality, affordable care, able to pay for both needed
What $37,824 Can Buy You in the U.S. in 2026: a VW SUV, a Year of College Tuition, or Healthcare for a Family of 4
If you had an extra $38K to spend, what would be on your list? If you’re a parent of a college-aged son or daughter, paying for college would be a lovely idea. If you’re in need of a new car, then that money could get you a mid-sized SUV. If you valued being covered by a health plan through your employer, then you’d be sharing in that cost to the tune of over $14,000 for your family of 4, based on the annual forecast in the 2026 Milliman Medical Index. The actuaries and health
The Side Effects of Debt and Financial Stress Add Up to a Public Health Crisis in America
Financial stress and debt take are now an American public health problem, we realize in the report, Rising debt is taking a toll on Americans’ financial and mental health from the Achieve Center for Consumer Insights. A joint survey conducted by Achieve and Money.com assessed the fiscal health perspectives of 2,000 U.S. consumers ages 18 and over, fielded in February 2026. This first chart from the study report arrays various “side effects” of Americans dealing with financial stress and debt, most commonly feelings of fatigue and low energy, stress-eating, delayed decision
One of the best aspects of my work is collaborating across the health/care ecosystem to address how health citizens can deal with health care costs and and care for families. I'm grateful to have collaborated with Fidelity on their research into this issue, which you can access at the link here.
I'm gratified to be named on this updated list of 16 women's voices who are shaping health care. The curator of the list, Dorlee Michaeli, asked the question: "If someone wanted a smarter healthcare LinkedIn feed tomorrow, who should they follow today?" Glad to be one of these voices.
I’m celebrating America’s 250th birthday both patriotically and professionally, honored that the NLM included my 2010 paper, “How Smartphones Are Changing Healthcare for Consumers and Patients” as one of 250 items curated for the digital archive of 250 Years of American Medicine.