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Millions of Americans Are Borrowing to Stay Healthy

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  Dr. Emrick's Books, Blogs, and Podcasts Imagine having to choose between your health and your financial stability. This isn’t just a thought experiment for millions of Americans—it’s a daily struggle. A recent Gallup and West Health study reveals a shocking truth: approximately 31 million Americans borrowed an estimated $74 billion in the past year to cover medical bills for themselves or a loved one. That’s a jaw-dropping figure that exposes a deep crack in our healthcare system—the crushing weight of medical debt. But here’s the kicker: this burden doesn’t hit everyone the same way. Younger adults, women, and racial/ethnic minorities are disproportionately forced to borrow to afford care. Let’s break it down: Nearly 1 in 5 adults aged 18-29 (18%) reported borrowing money for healthcare, compared to just 2% of those 65 and older. Women under 50 were more likely to borrow than men in the same age group (20% vs. 14%). Black adults (23%) and Hispanic ...
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Tariffs: A Lesson in Economics

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  Dr Emrick's Books, Blogs, and Podcasts So, what are tariffs? Tariffs are just what they sound like: taxes that a government charges on imported goods and services. The consumer of those goods pays higher prices for those tariffed products. Each of these levies raises the overall cost of imports, making foreign products less competitive against domestic goods. Historically, protectionist governments use tariffs to shield developing industries, save jobs, correct trade deficits, and occasionally for political leverage. The United States has been the world’s foremost advocate of free trade, slashing tariff barriers by 90 percent or more since the mid-20th century. Yet this openness has frequently resulted in asymmetric economic fallout, with those impacts primarily being felt by our trading partners who still have high tariffs on American exports. Funding for improved bilateral and multilateral enforcement, China has imposed significant tariffs and regulatory barriers on American pr...
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Physical Inactivity = Growing Obesity + Mental Health

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  Dr. Emrick's Books, Blogs, and Podcasts I recently conducted a peer review of an article by Santos et al. (2023).  The article's title is " The cost of inaction on physical inactivity to public healthcare systems: a population-attributable fraction analysis ," and it was published in The Lancet Global Health. My assessment of the study is that it provides a compelling analysis of the health and economic consequences of physical inactivity, projecting that nearly 500 million new cases of preventable non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health conditions will emerge globally by 2030 if current trends persist, incurring direct health-care costs of approximately $520 billion. For professionals and policymakers in the United States, where obesity rates have soared to over 40% of adults (CDC, 2023), this research is not just informative; it is a call to action. I explore why this information is essential in the USA’s growing obesity epidemic, weaving together empir...
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