Financial Stress and Trust in Health Care Takes Many Forms – Listening to Jarrard’s 2026 State of Play Survey
Most people in the U.S. are concerned about many cost-related aspects of health care, we learn from Jarrard’s 2026 survey report on Americans’ health care financial angst titled Navigating the Riptide: Public views on healthcare, health policy, and healthcare organizations. Jarrard fielded the consumer study among 1,049 U.S. adults 18 years of age and older in early January 2026. Here are the details, listing nine cost-related issues U.S. consumers face in their health care journeys – including, Difficulty paying medical bills (net 59% very or somewhat concerned) Delaying medical care due to cost (55%) Inability
Health Care Ads at the Big Game (Super Bowl LX) – Edgy, Entertaining, Educational
“When Weight Watchers dared to run an ad in 2015, it was likened to a record scratch,” AdAge noted in its preview of ads planned for broadcasting during Super Bowl LX. A decade+ later, healthcare and health-related promotions are part of the Big Game’s financial lifeblood, where a 30-second spot can cost $8 million according to AdMeter And on the aesthetics/design front, some of the ads this year are downright edgy — entertainment-intended, but also educational in their own way. Take “Rich People Live Longer,” this year’s ad from Hims & Hers Health. The company advertised at last year’s game
The Healthcare Affordability Elections, 2026 and 2028 – Listening to the KFF Tracking Poll, January 2026
The title of KFF’s press release launching the Foundation’s January 2026 Health Tracking Poll clearly observes, “Health Care Costs Tops the Public’s Economic Worries as the Runup to the Midterms Begins.” I’ve pulled out the key details to share my lens on the 2026 midterm and 2028 Presidential election forecast, which I believe will turn out to be (in part) The Patients’ Elections. Here’s the top-line title finding — where most people in the U.S. — 2 in 3 people (66%) — are worried more about health care costs compared with other major household expenses.
Thanks to Jennifer Castenson for her article in Green Builder Media tracking the growing trend of home-building baked with wellness inside and out. She interviewed me for the piece and I'm grateful to have my perspectives covered in this important issue. Here's one snippet: “Now, we are starting to see areas of the home purposed for health and we have started to think about how to repurpose the home for health."
yeva, digital storyteller, for engaging in a wide-ranging conversation with me about hos digital health and health/care have grown at CES (once called the Consumer Electronics Show) over the 16 years I have attended the meeting. We covered a lot of ground, from the early Fitbit/Nike/UnderArmour era where health covered a couple of aisles in the Venetian/Sands exhibition hall to 2026, where health/care is everywhere, from #digitalhealth and remote care monitoring to connected cars, smart homes, and mirrors for tracking well-being.
Jane joined host Dr. Geeta "Dr. G" Nayyar and colleagues to brainstorm the value of vaccines for public and individual health in this challenging environment for health literacy, health politics, and health citizen grievance. Click onto the Pfizer Value of Vaccines site and you can watch four episodes covering the challenges with adult vaccination, the employer and health plan member's journey to vaccination, reimbursement, and collaborating for proactive prevention.