In KFF Health News  reported in their readers are Pleading to Make American Greater: Healthcare for Not-So-Great Healthcare - Why doesn’t world-class medicine produce world-class health?

Hayat Norimine’s reporting gets at something that has bothered me for a long time about American healthcare (Priced Out: “As Health Insurance Costs Soar, Healthcare Workers Also Feel the Pinch,” Sept. 22).

Note: This story also ran on The Washington Post. It can be republished for free. 

We are very proud of U.S. medicine, and we should be. We are at the forefront of new treatments, our clinician workforce is unmatched, and we deploy technologies that seemed impossible just a few years ago. Yet we are in the middle of the pack compared with other countries, in terms of healthy lifespan and many markers of quality care.

At the same time, the cost of accessing care has become outrageously high. When clinicians stop getting health insurance for themselves and their families, you know something is deeply broken.

What good is our health system if most people cannot afford to use it?

One family in Norimine’s story went without insurance when their premiums climbed. Another person kept her coverage but waited weeks to see a doctor because of a $10,000 deductible. These are different problems, but both expose the distance between the care we can provide and the care people can actually access.

Insurance is supposed to help people get the care they need to stay healthy, not just when they are at death’s door. Yet the way insurance is designed can discourage someone from seeing a clinician early, filling a prescription, or following up before a problem gets worse. A clinician may say, “This is what you should do next,” while a person’s coverage gives them a reason to wait or decline.

That tension is not an accident. It is how the system was built. Doctors design care. Insurers design coverage. The two are put together in separate rooms by different teams, measured on different things, then handed to the same person as if they were one plan. No physician would design a $10,000 deductible; it just blocks people from investing in prevention and getting care early. But no physician was in the room when that threshold was set.

Making coverage affordable is essential. So is asking what that coverage enables people to do. If better health is the goal, the people responsible for a person’s health need a hand in shaping what their coverage pays for and when. Design coverage and care together, and it gets easier for people to get the care we know works while avoiding waste.

— Clay Johnston; Austin, Texas

###

Health News Illinois reports: Rates for health plans available on the state’s marketplace exchange will see double-digit increases, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the Department of Insurance.

The average rate change for the lowest cost bronze plans and the lowest cost silver plans will both rise by 10 percent.

The average rate change for the second lowest cost silver plans is expected to increase by 11 percent.

Rates for the lowest cost gold plans are increasing by 14 percent on average. No platinum or small group plans will be offered during the exchange year.

The statewide weighted average rate increase for individual plans is 14.1 percent, half of the 28.8 percent increase during the current plan year. 

DOI Director Ann Gillespie laid blame at the Trump administration for the continued increase in insurance costs.

“Due to the continuing economic fallout from the Trump Administration’s damaging decisions… more Americans are still struggling to pay for health insurance, and many are uninsured,” she said. “Our Get Covered Illinois team stands ready to support Illinoisans during the upcoming open enrollment period to help find the best health plan to fit their budget and needs.”

A total of 263 plans will be available from 5 issuers on the marketplace. Cigna and Molina, which previously offered plans in the Chicagoland area, have left the exchange.

The agency said there are a few changes as far as plans are concerned in different regions. Celtic will expand coverage into parts of central and southern Illinois, while MercyCare will expand into Stephenson County.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois remains the sole insurer that covers the entire state and will be the only available issuer in 42 counties.

Open enrollment began Friday and lasts until Jan. 15.

According to IDOI, 466,371 Illinoisans enrolled in marketplace plans during plan year 2026. Of those, 85 percent received premium tax credits to help lower the cost of monthly premiums. 

###

KFF Health News, STAT, and CDC reported: About 40% of high school students reported binge eating in the past month in a large new government survey, putting a spotlight on how widespread this common form of disordered eating is among young people in the U.S. 

This is the first time the biennial survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has asked about binge eating, and the first data on disordered eating collected by the Youth Risk Behavior Survey in a decade. Among its other striking findings: 17% of nearly 7,000 students said they had engaged in binge eating within the last three days.  “It was extremely alarming seeing how high those numbers were,” said Ariel Beccia, a researcher in the adolescent and children’s medicine division of Boston Children’s Hospital. 

More>

Health News Illinois reports: Cook County will provide an additional $40 million to help offset a shortfall in its health system’s budget that could have led to service cuts and layoffs, county Board President Toni Preckwinkle said last week.

Preckwinkle’s unveiled $9.7 billion budget proposal will provide a total of $208 million to support Cook County Health, which she said will help preserve access to care for residents.

The funding comes as Cook County Health said it has eliminated $314 million in expenses in recent years through operational improvements, such as reductions in agency staffing and purchased services.

“That work has put us in a stronger position, but the massive scale of the federal funding reductions exceeds what we can do from an efficiency perspective alone,” said Cook County Health CEO Dr. Erik Mikaitis. “We are grateful for the additional support from Cook County government, which will be essential to protecting access to critical health programs, and ensuring the health system can continue to fulfill its mission of providing high-quality, accessible care and services to the people who rely on us.”

The health system’s proposed $4.7 billion budget is a $439 million cut from this year.

County leaders said changes coming to the Medicaid program, including work requirements and additional redeterminations, are expected to cause a spike in the amount of charity care offered in the coming year.

Current projections are that the county will spend $485 million on charity care next year, a $100 million increase from the current year.

Those Medicaid changes are projected to leave about 330,000 Illinois residents without Medicaid coverage. Additionally, the expiration of enhanced federal marketplace tax credits resulted in an estimated 92,000 Illinoisans losing their marketplace insurance this year.

###

Register Now ! Pathways to Lead Exposure Webinar - Lead Poisoning Prevention Month* Webinar | Part of the IOMC's "Preventive Medicine Series."

October 29, 2026 
Live Webinar - Free - Open to All
12:00 PM CT - 1:30 PM CT 
The Lead Abatement Resource Center Foundation (LARC Foundation)

More details and to register here>

Join the progress against childhood lead poisoning.

Leading into the Institute of Medicine of Chicago's "Preventive Medicine Series,"  National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week is October 25-31, 2026, and it is also Children's Health Month. 

IOMC proudly joins the global, national, and local initiative to prevent childhood lead poisoning.

*October marks Lead Poisoning Prevention Month—a critical opportunity to spotlight the serious risks of lead exposure, particularly for children (US Environmental Protection Agency).

National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (NLPPW) will take place October 25–31, 2026. This collaborative effort, led by the U.S. EPA, CDC, and HUD, unites organizations and communities to amplify awareness and drive action.

The Lead Abatement Resource Center Foundation's (LARC Foundation) mission is to eliminate blood lead levels in children. They do this through education, advocacy, and research on the child, the family, and the community. Visit their website> 

Lead poisoning continues to endanger children’s health across the country. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that 3.3 million families with a child under age six are at risk due to lead-based paint hazards in their homes. In addition, in Chicago, lead pipe replacement projects are underway. Even minimal lead exposure can significantly impact a child’s intellect, concentration, behavior, and academic performance. NLPPW highlights the proactive steps parents, caregivers, and communities can take to safeguard children and prevent the lifelong consequences of lead exposure.

More details and to register here>

###

KFF Health News reported: As reported cases of measles increase daily in states like Pennsylvania and Ohio, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is providing states with money to increase vaccinations, testing, and disease surveillance.

KFF  Health News shared these updates: 

The New York Times: C.D.C. Offers States $100 Million In Measles Support As Cases Climb

As measles continues to spread nationwide, hospitals and health officials are pouring more money into efforts to increase vaccinations, testing and surveillance of the disease. The funds include a surprise $100 million infusion in recent weeks to states from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Mandavilli and Blum, 10/8)

ABC News: Health Officials Report 74 New Measles Cases In Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is reporting 74 new measles cases since Monday, the state's health department said Wednesday. A total of 1,078 cases have been reported in the state so far this year. At least 207 people have been hospitalized and five people have died, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH). "Of the 74 cases added, more than 40 represent individuals who were sick more than two weeks ago and are no longer contagious, but their cases were only recently reported and subsequently confirmed, the DOH said. Wednesday's update "does not reflect a current surge in new infections." (Benadjaoud and Kekatos, 10/8)

The Columbus Dispatch: Measles Cases In Ohio Grow Again, 400% Rise From 2025 Numbers

Measles has spread to another Ohio county and another with a near double-digit increase as Ohio's third measles outbreak of 2026 continues. The state had 22 new cases in the past week, a 120% increase from the 10 new cases reported the week before, the Ohio Department of Health reports. (Murphy, Powel and Walrath-Holdridge, 10/8)

More>

###

Becker's Health IT: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality launched a $7.95 million prize initiative Oct. 7 aimed at using AI to speed medical evidence reviews and expand the use of federal healthcare data.

The agency, part of HHS, is calling the effort the Super Intelligence for Healthcare Improvement Initiative. It includes two competitions focused on clinical evidence synthesis and healthcare research, quality and safety.

The larger component, the Clinical Evidence Synthesis Transformation Challenge, offers up to $5.85 million in prizes, including a $5.35 million grand prize, for tools that could reduce the time required to evaluate medical evidence from a year or more to hours.

Finalists will be evaluated on factors including accuracy, throughput, reproducibility, usability and ease of operation.

More>

###

Becker's Behavioral Health reported: Mental healthcare, including care for substance use disorders, accounted for 7% of total U.S. healthcare expenditures from 2021 to 2023, Medscape reported Oct. 7. Annualized mental health spending totaled $174 billion, compared with $2.5 trillion in overall healthcare expenditures captured by the survey.

Researchers analyzed data from the 2021 to 2023 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, which represents the civilian noninstitutionalized U.S. population. The analysis included 67,532 person-year observations, including 15,407 involving outpatient mental healthcare. The study, led by Carlos Blanco, MD, PhD, of the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Bethesda, Md., was published online Sept. 30 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Here are five things to know:

1. Mean annual mental healthcare spending was $523 per person overall and $2,473 per person among those with any treated mental health disorder.

2. Mood disorders represented the largest category of aggregate mental health spending at $74 billion. Anxiety and fear-related disorders followed at $69 billion.

3. Substance use disorders had the highest mean per-person expenditures at $9,569, followed by schizophrenia at $9,370 and bipolar disorders at $7,382.

4. Ambulatory services represented the largest spending category at $107 billion. Medication accounted for $36 billion, home healthcare for $20 billion and inpatient treatment for $12 billion.

5. Mean per-person expenditures were higher among individuals who were female compared with male and nonmarried compared with married. Spending was lower among individuals aged 65 years or older compared with those younger than 18, Asian and Hispanic individuals compared with non-Hispanic white individuals and uninsured individuals compared with insured individuals.

###

MedPage Today reported: Maternal health conditions during pregnancy were consistently associated with autism spectrum disorder but several factors varied across race and ethnic groups, a large retrospective study of U.S. children showed.

Autism prevalence differed by race and ethnicity, but most maternal health conditions during the perinatal period had similar relationships with autism, reported Magdalena Janecka, PhD, of NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City, and co-authors.

However, four conditions -- maternal overweight and obesity, depression, asthma, and pregnancy complications -- showed racial and ethnic differences in the magnitude of their association with autism, Janecka and colleagues wrote in JAMA Network Open.

More>

###

Health News Illinois reported: The number of those experiencing homelessness in Illinois has dropped in the past year, but those experiencing chronic homelessness have grown exponentially, according to a state report released last week.

The report from the Department of Human Services found homelessness in Illinois dropped 6 percent between 2025 and 2026. But the number of those who have been homeless more than once in the past year and have a disabling condition rose by 28 percent over the same period.

The analysis labels homelessness as a public health concern, noting that nearly 3,000 people experiencing homelessness died between 2017 and 2023. Those without stable housing have a life expectancy nearly 20 years shorter than housed residents.

Homelessness also leads to an increase in costs for hospitals, with the report finding hospital charges for that population totaling over $22 billion between 2017 and 2023.

The report also finds disparities persist, with Black Illinoisans accounting for 55 percent of the population experiencing homelessness.

The report outlines several strategies to address the challenges, including further collaborations between housing organizations and providers in the public health and behavioral health space to improve care for individuals.

It also calls for scaling up available housing and investments in public benefits.

“The Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness remains focused on expanding strategies we know work: increasing pathways to affordable housing, strengthening access to services, reducing barriers that keep people unhoused, and building partnerships that reach every corner of the state. We approach this work with determination, humility, and hope,” said Illinois Chief Homelessness Officer Christine Haley.

###