The Rough Guide to Health/Care Consumers in 2025: The 2025 Health Populi TrendCast
At this year-end time each year, my gift to Health Populi readers is an annual “TrendCast,” weaving together key data and stories at the convergence of people, health care, and technology with a look into the next 1-3 years. If you don’t know my work and “me,” my lens is through health economics broadly defined: I use a slash mark between “health” and “care” because of this orientation, which goes well beyond traditional measurement of how health care spending is included in a nation’s gross domestic product (GDP); I consider health across the many dimensions important to people, addressing physical,
National Healthcare Spending in the U.S. Was Nearly $5 Trillion (with a “T”) in 2023 – New Data from CMS
What would $5 trillion be valued around the world or on the stock market? The economy of Germany was gauged around $5 trillion in 2024. India could be the world’s 3rd largest economy by 2026 valued at $5 trillion. Nvidia could be a $5 trillion company in 2025, as could Amazon. But today we report out the latest data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that national health spending in America reached $4.9 trillion in 2023. The full report on national health expenditures (NHE) in the U.S. was published today in Health Affairs, which came off embargo
Health-Tech at the Holidays: 2024 Consumer Health-Tech Trends Under the Tree
One in two U.S. adults plans to purchase at least one health and wellness digital health technology product to gift during the winter 2024 holiday season, according to the 2024 Consumer Technology Holiday Purchase Patterns study served up by CTA, the Consumer Technology Association — aka the annual host of CES. Specifically, 41% of givers are looking to buy a dedicated health monitoring device, and 31% a product covering connected sports or fitness. For this annual study, CTA conducted an online survey among 1,205 U.S. adults 18 and over in August-September 2024 to gauge
Most People in the U.S. Trust the CDC and NIH for Health Information, and Most Want President Trump to Strengthen Health Institutions
Most health citizens in the U.S. trust the CDC, NIH, and FDA, and most people also want the 47th incoming President Donald Trump to strengthen health/care institutions — from the VA and FDA to Medicare, Medicaid, as well as the CDC and Affordable Care Act. The Axios/Ipsos American Health Index, published this week, reveals both concurrence among U.S. health consumers with some striking differences across political party ID. Axios and Ipsos fielded a survey among 1,002 U.S. adults in early December to glean peoples’ perspectives on health, trust, and a variety of health and social policies.
Americans’ Views on the Quality of Healthcare Fell to a Record Low — with Costs Ranking as the Most Urgent Problem for Health in the U.S.
Americans’ perception of the quality of health care in the U.S. fell to the lowest level since 2001, Gallup found in a poll of U.S. health citizens’ views on health care quality, published December 6, 2024. In 2024, only 44% of Americans said that the quality of health care int he U.S. was excellent or good — conversely, 56% of Americans though health care quality was only fair or poor. By political party, that included 50% of Democrats evaluating the quality of care highly compared with 42% of Republicans. Only 28% of people in
How Trauma-Informed Design Principles Can Be Health-Ful for All of Us – Learning from IKEA
As a long-time fan and customer of IKEA, I receive daily Google Alerts about the company, from business finances to design trends. When I read this piece on IKEA’s work on a home designed for people who were homeless, I paid special attention to learn about the concept of trauma-informed design. Thanks to the publication Retail TouchPoints and the author of the story, Adan Blair, for covering this project. The story has lit a lot of lightbulb inspirations for me in thinking through the role housing plays in human health and well-being, and also to
Digital Divides and Disability – Ranking Health Determinants in a Digital Age: Learning from WHO and LSE
Among 127 health determinants, two rank highest: digital divides in the era of tech-enabled health and care: digital divides that shape a person’s political, economic, and social environment, and the person’s health/disability status. The digital transformation of health and care compel us to re-consider and re-frame social determinants of health in the “digital age,” which is what the World Health Organization in collaboration with the London School of Economics have done in research, published this week in the report, Addressing health determinants in a digital age. The report was funded by the European
How World AIDS Day 2024 Can Inform Healthcare in 2025
December 1 2024 was World AIDS Day, which was observed by the Biden White House with the display of the entire AIDS Memorial Quilt on the South Lawn — all 54 tons of it. The Biden-Harris Administration announced efforts, in advance of World AIDS Day, to continue to fight HIV/AIDS “at home and abroad.” The press release for the effort noted that, ”We remember those who have died from AIDS-related illnesses—honoring their courage and contributions as essential to the progress made thus far. We also stand in solidarity with the more than 39 million people with HIV around the world.
The Evidence for Gratitude and Health, 2024 Giving Thanks
In our home, we’re feeling very grateful for our healthy lives and work-flows right now, being very mindful about seeing blessings around me and within me…. So I’m sharing the love (or “scaling the love” as I recently coined at OSF’s Digital Health Symposium!) to honor American Thanksgiving 2024 here in Health Populi pointing out several sources highlighting the evidence on gratitude and health….underpinned with love, the ultimate driver of health and well-being. Leslie Sarasin, President and CEO of FMI, the Food Industry Association, reminds us that, “Our immigrant ancestors, the pilgrim settlers, worked hard
Workers Feel “Stuck,” Under-Insured, Financially Stressed, and Neglecting Mental Health
“It’s the economy stupid,” Jennifer Tescher, CEO of the Financial Health Network, titles her latest column in Forbes. Published two weeks after the 2024 U.S. elections, Jennifer’s assertion sums up what, ex post facto, we know about what most inspired American voters at the polls in November 2024: the economy, economics, inflation, the costs of daily living….pick your noun, but it’s all about those Benjamins right now for mainstream American consumers across many demographic cuts. With that realization, we must remind ourselves as we enter a new year under a second-term President Trump that health care spending for everyday people
3 in 4 U.S. Patients Say the Healthcare System is Broken — But Technology Can Help
Patients “yearn” for personalized services and relationships in health care — optimistic that technology can help deliver on that hope — we learn in Healthcare’s Future: Balancing Progress and Perception, a health consumer survey report from Lavidge. Lavidge, a communications/PR/marketing consultancy, polled U.S. patients’ attitudes about health care and technology in June 2024, publishing the report earlier this month. Start with over-arching finding that, “Three out of four patients believe the U.S. healthcare system is broken and there is a strong sense of distrust,” Lavidge asserts right at the top of
What Stays True for U.S. Health Care Post #Election2024 (1) – Consumers’ Dissatisfaction with Drug Prices
For health care, there are many uncertainties as we reflect, one week after the 2024 U.S. elections, on probably policy and market impacts that we can expect in 2025 and beyond. In today’s Health Populi post, I’ll reflect on the first of several certainties we-know-we-know about U.S. health citizens and key factors shaping the American health ecosystem. In this first of several posts on “What Stays True for U.S. Health Care Post #Election2024,” I’ll focus on U.S. consumer dissatisfaction with drug prices — across political party identification. Let’s set the context with data from a recently-published
“People will seek wellness, peace and healing” – Reading the GWI Future of Wellness Report, 2024 Trends
Healthy eating and weight loss, personal care and beauty, exercise and physical activity, and wellness tourism are the four biggest components of the world’s wellness economy, quantified in The Future of Wellness, 2024 Trends, the perennial report from the Global Wellness Institute (GWI). Here’s the bubble chart, which I’ve updated with the 2025 data so we get a sense of what the coming year will bring for the eleven total segments that make up the global wellness market. The fine print of the projections for these areas identifies the annual growth rates for
Peace and Health: A Causal Relationship Explored in the AMA Journal of Ethics
“Peace and health are inextricably connected,” the Editors of the AMA Journal of Ethics introduce an issue of the journal devoted to Peace in Health Care published November 2024. In this timely journal issue, we can explore nearly one dozen essays exploring the interrelationship between peace and health in various clinical, care, and community settings — including hospice, maternal/child care, built environments, and adjacencies looking at the use of psychedelics and music for quieting one’s inner voices. You, the reader, will find your own favorite issues to explore based on your work, values, and interests.
How’s Life? Around the World – In the U.S., It’s the Sadness That Stands Out
A new report from the OECD asks the question, “How’s Life?” with the tagline letting us know the plotline focuses on “well-being and resilience in times of crisis.” The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has tracked the well-being of member nations for the past six years, taking a broad view on the definition of holistic health — including physical, mental, financial, and social aspects of people living in OECD countries. The first “How’s Life?” report was published at the height of the global financial crisis; the authors of this report introduce it saying that, “the
Keep Calm and Carry On – Election Day Anxiety Hacks from Calm, Aloft Hotels, and Sesame Street
As my phone keeps pinging today with texts of friends and colleagues sharing #Election2024 angst, I am grateful to the folks at Calm for providing some moments of silence. Here’s their share to help us cope with political stress today. Calm provided similar support previously in 2020 when the meditation app collaborated with the media network CNN on election anxiety management — covered here in Health Populi. Political stress and anxiety is a mainstream mental health challenge in the U.S. (and other countries dealing with divisive politics). Many brands and products have taken positions
Women and #Election2024: Listening to Abigail Adams
With a handful of days before #Election2024 delivers final voters to polls in the U.S. on November 5th, Americans’ political stress is hitting fever pitches from all points on the U.S. political spectrum. Here is the sticker I am using in my journal today, November 1 2024, from Mental Health America. “Vote as if your mental health depends on it.” MHA has a portal devoted to 2024 Election Mental Health Resources, including a section with “mental health voter merch” to call out the phenomenon of political stress and support the efforts
Doctors’ Recommendations Are Top Motivators for Consumers Who Buy Digital Health Devices: Trust and Health
Most consumers using digital health devices felt more trust in the technology when coupled with doctors’ office reviews — another lens on the importance of trust-equity between patients and physicians. This insight came out of a report on How Consumers Purchase, Use and Trust Medical Devices based on market research sponsored by Propel Software. For the study, Propel Software engaged Talker Research to conduct a survey among 2,000 U.S. adults in October 2024 to gauge peoples’ views on digital health tools, buying trends, and trust. Start with the rate of 1 in 4 Americans’ experience
Health Care Costs and Access On U.S. Voters’ Minds – Even If “Not on the Ballot” – Ipsos/PhRMA
Today marks eight days before #Election2024 in the U.S. While many political pundits assert that “health care is not on the ballot,” I contend it is on voters’ minds in many ways — related to the economy (the top issue in America), social equity, and even immigration (in terms of the health care workforce). In today’s Health Populi blog, I’m digging into Access Denied: patients speak out on insurance barriers and the need for policy change, a study conducted by Ipsos on behalf of PhRMA, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America — the pharma industry’s advocacy organization (i.e., lobby
We Are Stressed in America – APA’s 2024 Stress in America Survey on “A Nation in Turmoil”
Two in three people in the U.S. are dealing with Presidential Election Stress — a significant contributor to Americans’ overall stress we learn from the American Psychological Association’s study into Stress in America 2024. I’ve covered the APA’s Stress in America studies for many years, appreciating the role that anxiety and stress play in peoples’ overall health status and well-being. In 2024, “stress” is a mainstream factor in daily life whether you identify with Main Street or Wall Street. Here was my most recent post on the APA study here in Health Populi,
I was invited to be a Judge for the upcoming CES 2025 Innovation Awards in the category of digital health and connected fitness. So grateful to be part of this annual effort to identify the best in consumer-facing health solutions for self-care, condition management, and family well-being. Thank you, CTA!
Thank you Team Roche for inviting me to brainstorm patients as health citizens, consumers, payers, and voters in the Healthcare Transformers series.
For the past 15 years, the annual CES conference in Las Vegas has been my go-to meeting for updating my research and network in digital health and consumer-facing electronics that people find meaningful for their well-being, families, and home lives. I'll be back in Vegas in January for a full week of Media Days, one-on-one meetings, and speaking about my perspectives on health consumers.