Downside of Self-Sought Information

“U.S. health care is likely to continue to underperform until policymakers and health care leaders address the rising cost of health services.”The Commonwealth Fund, in a May 2026 report related to the affordability of USA healthcare, which is defined as one of the most pressing challenges for the nation.

Responding In Kind

Responses and comments from my readers…I do receive periodic information from the many readers of the blog. While I have often responded individually, I decided that I should share more transparently. Hopefully, this contributes to an ongoing dialogue…

“Make America Health Again”

Donald Trump, President of the United States – in multiple presentations over the past month…

“While making us healthy again is important – remember the 1960s when we were told to exercise at recess – there are multiple critics of the revised statement. While improving nutrition is valuable, it does not address affordability, insurance coverage, Medicaid, prescription drug costs, the issue of immunization availability, or access to physician services. In fact, healthcare costs remain the number one healthcare issue for Americans these days.”

Kevin Fickenscher, MD – in a conversation with a group of colleagues related to the major healthcare issues facing American citizens.

Information for your Consideration…

A Colleague’s Post – I recently received a Facebook post from 2026-0702 from one of my long-time colleagues, John Glaser. Evidently, he did some research using his research companion – ChatGPT – by asking the question: Where does the USA stand in relation to other nations throughout the world on a variety of areas? As he points out in his note: While there are many areas where the US is the best in the world, there are also areas where it is something other than the best. Specifically, I was appalled at where we stood on “healthcare” and “longevity” – the former being my professional focus throughout my career; and, the latter being my focus as I enter the twilight years. Consider the information…What should we do about it?

Here are John’s thoughts, which I also wanted to share since they are right on point: “The US excels in creating wealth, innovation, scientific research, entrepreneurship, and global cultural influence. At the same time, many peer nations achieve better average health outcomes, longer life expectancy, lower inequality, and higher reported life satisfaction.” So, where are we at today? And, John asked the key question: “…What [would] the “Founding Fathers” think of the US today?” It’s something we should quite muttering about and, instead – do something about…

Seeking Health Information – The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) recently reported on a new tracking poll of the American public on how and where they seek “health information” and “trust” when questions or support are needed for issues they are facing. The poll revealed that 3 in 10 adults turn to social media (31%) or AI chatbots (29%) for their health information. The primary reasons for turning to the web were that they were seeking thoughts and perspectives from others with similar experiences, or they needed immediate information to address a particular concern.

The Downside of Self-Sought Information – A recent report in The Washington Post noted that TikTok videos are “pushing misinformation about sunscreen” and are receiving a “disproportionately high share of likes, shares and comments”. The reason for the concern? It’s because people accessing the platform are receiving a disproportionately high number of anti-sunscreen postings. The trend is of concern to dermatologists (NOTE: Among them, my wife is a Mohs Cancer Specialist and Past President of the Am Acad of Derm) because the postings discourage the use of sunscreens, which protect against skin cancer. The misinformation, however, touts information like the increase in melanomas as “caused” by sunscreens. It’s total hocus pocus misinformation. But it’s not just the dermatologists who are concerned. In a separate PLOS Digital Health report shared on NBC News, data shows that information distributed on TikTok videos had some of “the highest views across the five most popular sunscreen-related hashtags.” The report went on to note that while 87% of the nearly 1,000 videos promoted sunscreen use, the content that had the highest levels of engagement included the sites containing misinformation.

But, It’s Not Just the Laity – In another report on the professional use of AI, the percent of use by the legal profession increased from 69% (2025) to 92% (2026)!! Why? It seems that 88% of the legal professionals responding indicated that the use of AI allowed them to “increased workloads” as reported by 88% of the legal professionals. Hmmm? Does this mean I might be seeking advice from “Legal AI” down the road instead of setting appointments for face-to-face discussions?

Oh Oh!! – Back in June 2025, 21 States and the District of Columbia filed suit against the Department of Health and Human Services to prevent the release of Medicaid data on recipients to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for purposes of enforcement. However, the Justice Department recently admitted to the judge that a Medicaid data file from the states had been “inadvertently” sent by HHS to ICE. The mistake came to light in a recent federal court filing. It’s been a continuing battle between the states and the federal government over control of whether or not Medicaid data can be used to aid immigration arrests. It’s an important issue since such data could be used for other purposes should the feds win their case against the states.

Healthcare Tops The List Of American Concerns – The Kaiser Family Foundation conducted yet another survey revealing that “healthcare” ranks as the #1 issue of concern to the American public. The most recent tracking poll found that about 64% of adults are worried about their ability to afford and pay for healthcare services with fully a third noting that they were “very worried”!! And, only 13% noted no worries about their ability to afford healthcare costs. Other issues highlighted as part of the survey include:

• Challenges related to “affordability” among both those with and without insurance is a major concern.

• Nearly one-half (46%) of the insured note that lower out-of-pocket costs are the most important change they’d like to see made to their insurance, with 22% opting for the elimination of prior authorization as their most important concern.

These two issues outranked by far those who felt that they needed to get more value for the care they received (13%) or, wanted more choice in which specialists and physicians they could see under their insurance plan (12%)

Across the political spectrum, “healthcare” was described as an issue that would have a “major impact” on who they vote for in the coming elections (55% overall), with Democrats leaning more heavily on the issues (64%) versus Independents (52%) and Republicans (48%). However, it was close. It’s clear that a “top of mind” issue in all of the upcoming campaigns will no doubt be access and financing of healthcare. So, the question is: What promises will be made? And what promises will be kept in the coming couple of years?

A Slightly Shorter Daily Obligation – For the last several years, in an effort to keep the “senility lion” at bay, I’ve tried to walk about 10,000 steps a day. It’s just short of a mile around my block, and my two dogs like to go for walks at least twice a day. So, reaching the 10K mark is possible – but, due to other obligations, not every day! So, I was a bit heartened when a report appeared in HealthDay noting that: “About 8,500 steps a day may be the sweet spot for keeping weight off after dieting, new research shows.” However, the study only reported on “maintaining weight loss” – which is not my problem. So, despite those findings, I’m going to continue my efforts to maintain the 10,000 steps mark (at least 3 – 4x/week 😊). You can check out the details on the findings that were published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Musings from a foodie…

As some of my long-time readers know, I lived in London for a number of years during my Perot Systems days. My tenure as the leader for International Health was one of the most exciting and satisfying experiences of my entire career. In addition, I became a fan of the London culinary scene. As a result, when I returned to London for a meeting recently, I sought out some of my old haunts. In particular, I wanted to highlight one of my favorites of the favorites, Benares [ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ]. But I discovered they were also using another name = “1947 London” (NOTE: the year of India’s independence). Despite the name change, it is still one of the very best Indian restaurants from the bevy of restaurants listed in my Outlook file. While the name has changed from “Benares” to “1947 London”, they have maintained their Michelin Star Rating. So, I highly recommend it if you have the opportunity to visit London anytime over the next couple of years. They pay homage to the rich and diverse culinary heritage of India with absolutely inspired culinary preparations. Benares Restaurant & Bar (located in Mayfair) = 12a Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London W1J 6BS – Phone: +44 (0)20 7629 8886 – Website: Benares Restaurant – book a table

The ongoing saga…

The Great – At the local level in towns throughout the nation, there were celebrations for the 250^th anniversary of independence for the United States of America on July 4^th. Despite everything else going on in the nation, we could step aside, come together, and celebrate “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” for at least a couple of hours…

The Good – Healthcare is ranked as the “number one” issue for the majority of Americans. Perhaps it will stimulate some positive change among the politicians for solving the problems we face as a nation and solving the many elements of the existing American healthcare crisis.

The Bad – Hmmm? Where to start. There are such a growing number of “bad” things happening right now. Let’s start with the resumption of the Iran war…arch!!! I continue to wear my peace symbol.

The Ugly – The “deserved” withdrawal of Graham Platner as the Democrat nominee for Senator in the upcoming Maine elections. While there was great hope among the Dems on his potential for unseating Sen. Susan Collins – a last-minute across-the-board Trump supporter – his undoings emanated from the personal side.