Susan Sanger with Principal

06/02/2026

verywellhealth.com

06/02/2026

Remember when Obamacare passed in 2010, the American public was told that the law would hold down the ever-increasing cost of health care, you could keep your doctor and insurance plan, and the rich would pay their fair share

thecentersquare.com

05/29/2026

Healthcare has become so expensive that Americans are now being offered "subscription" healthcare memberships just to access more affordable prescriptions, telehealth visits, labs, and imaging.

GoodRx is the latest company entering that space with a monthly membership model aimed at lowering common healthcare costs.

While programs like this may help some consumers save money in the short term, it also raises a bigger question: Why has navigating basic healthcare become so complicated and costly in the first place?

The healthcare system continues to evolve — and not always in ways that make things simpler for patients.

www.fiercehealthcare.com

05/27/2026

Prior authorizations were originally intended to help manage costs, but too often they've become a frustrating delay between patients and the care their doctors already recommended. In some cases, treatment decisions can take weeks while paperwork, appeals, and reviews move through the system.

kcrg.com

05/26/2026

To avoid a $553 monthly premium hike this year, retired teacher Melanie Miller replaced her Affordable Care Act coverage with two alternative plans, one that covers preventive services and another that pays fixed amounts for hospital care

kffhealthnews.org

05/25/2026

Few people are prepared to handle the financial burden of long-term health care. In fact, many people have a false sense of security when it comes to long-term care. Let’s separate fact from fiction:

05/25/2026

If there's a hard way to do something, somehow I'll find it. I've never been someone who takes the "easy way out." Sometimes I think I unconsciously choose the hardest possible path in life—and not in the poetic "road less traveled" kind of way. I mean the exhausting, stubborn, painful kind. 🙂

In the mid-2010s, I started having significant knee pain. I did what you're supposed to do—doctors, testing, cortisone injections, advice to lose weight and exercise more. But how exactly do you exercise when every step hurts?

By 2017, the pain was almost unbearable. More appointments. More injections. More "lose weight." I was also told they didn't like doing knee replacements on patients under 50.

By 2018, both knees were bone-on-bone. Surgeon #1 agreed I needed replacements—but only after I lost 50+ pounds. So I spent 10 miserable months losing 40 pounds before finding Surgeon #2.

Surgeon #2 simply said he could do the surgery whenever I was ready.

But in true "Sue fashion," I requested bilateral knee replacement surgery. BOTH knees. Same time. 😂

Was I crazy? Possibly. Was I trying to save on one hospitalization, one leave from work, one disability claim, and one stretch of PTO? Honestly…probably a little.

But the biggest reason? I was afraid if I only did one knee, I'd never go back for the second.

The interesting thing is, through all of it, I was never worried about paying my bills while recovering. Why? Because years earlier, I had planned ahead.

I had:
• saved PTO
• elected short-term disability coverage through work
• and even had disability coverage tied to our mortgage

Looking back, the one thing I wish I would have done differently is purchasing an individual disability policy when I was younger—something portable and not tied to employment.

Because eventually, jobs change. Careers change. Life changes.

And had I continued putting this surgery off, I may have missed one of the most meaningful moments of my granddaughter's life—taking her very first steps while visiting me in the hospital, as I relearned how to take mine. ❤️

May is Disability Insurance Awareness Month, and disability insurance is one of the most overlooked forms of financial protection out there—until you suddenly need it.

Has disability insurance ever "saved your bacon" during a difficult season in life?

05/22/2026

Some hospitals are taking action to neutralize the impact of potential changes, a tactic employed by PBMs in the decades-long push from PhRMA.

05/22/2026

Meet Jim Scott👋

Jim has been a financial advisor since 2004, bringing over two decades of experience and a rare combination of business depth and retirement planning expertise — backed by both an MBA and his RICP designation.

For Jim, great financial planning starts with truly understanding the person in front of him. He takes the time to listen, ask the right questions, and build strategies that are clear, practical, and built around what matters most to each client.

His clients don’t just get a plan — they get an advisor who is genuinely invested in their financial future for the long haul.

We’re proud to have Jim Scott on the Baxter Investment Group team!

05/21/2026

As generic versions of Ozempic begin rolling out in countries like Canada and India, it highlights a growing concern here in the U.S. — healthcare affordability.

For many Americans, prescription costs can have a major impact on both monthly budgets and long-term retirement planning.

nbcnews.com