Health

A worsening health condition or sudden medical emergency can set off a chain reaction which reinforces food insecurity – as medical expenses climb and hourly workers lose wages, exacerbating their financial insecurity and that of their employers.

Health

A decline in person health, or that of a child or parent, or a sudden medical emergency can set off a chain reaction which reinforces food insecurity – as medical expenses climb and hourly workers lose wages, worsening their financial insecurity and that of their employers.

Food Insecurity Perpetuated by Lack of Healthcare Access.

Families experiencing food insecurity face a higher risk of poor health outcomes, including a greater prevalence of chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.

These families frequently live in neighborhoods with fewer health care resources, face greater exposure to environmental health hazards, and work in jobs without health insurance or paid sick leave.

Learn About Hunger - Income Stability

Barriers to Nutrition and Healthcare

Texas, has some of the highest rates of food insecurity paired with some of the highest rates of uninsured individuals and diet-related diseases. Nearly 5 million Texans — double the national average — lack health insurance, and over 2 million Texas households are food insecure. These combined challenges lead to a cycle of worsening health and financial strain.

The Downward Spiral Limited access to nutritious food and missed medical appointments due to out of pocket costs. This leads to a decline in health, expensive emergency care becomes the only option, which pushes individuals deeper into financial stress. As chronic conditions worsen, income decreases, and food insecurity deepens. 1/3 of chronically ill adults can't afford medicine, food, or both.

The Ripple Effect

When families are forced to wait for a medical emergency due to lack of coverage or funds, they face medical debt and lost wages, while hospitals are burdened by uncompensated care. This debt has a ripple effect on many areas, including:

19% of Texans have unpaid medical bills that have been sent to debt collectors. Of the $4.3 trillion in annual US health spending, 85% of this spending is on diet-related conditions. 2.4 million Texas do not have access to healthy food sources. To break the cycle of poor health and food insecurity, solutions must simultaneously prioritize reduction of healthcare costs while promoting preventative care and better nutrition access.

To break the cycle of poor health and food insecurity, solutions must simultaneously prioritize reduction of healthcare costs while promoting preventative care and better nutrition access.

Policy Roadmap

Integrate Nutritious Food Programs into Healthcare Coverage

Pairing nutritious food and healthcare access for families that are food insecure help reduce hospital visits, lower healthcare costs, and improve overall quality of life by promoting preventive care. For these programs to succeed, they require sustainable funding mechanisms and incentives for insurers to broaden adoption and impact.

Promote Access to Preventative and Affordable Healthcare

Ensuring families, especially hourly or low-wage workers, can maintain access to preventative and affordable healthcare – through employer-supported insurance, public health programs, or other pathways – is critical to preventing minor health issues from escalating into severe, costly conditions. These changes also reduce costs to hospitals and health insurers.

Support Nutritious Food Access

Creating opportunities for greater access to nutritious food is essential for improving public health. This includes supporting programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and capacity building programs for farmers whose food can support the community in which it is grown.

Prevent Medical Debt from Spurring Financial Instability

Transparent policies limiting hidden medical billing practices, capping interest rates on medical debt, and providing clearer pathways for debt forgiveness can alleviate the financial strain on low-income families. These reforms help ensure a medical emergency doesn’t turn into long-term financial hardship.

Sources

  1. National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. (2024). Food Accessibility, Insecurity, and Health Outcomes. https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/resources/understanding-health-disparities/food-accessibility-insecurity-and-health-outcomes.html
  2. Gregory, C. A., & Coleman-Jensen, A. (2017). Food insecurity, chronic disease, and health among working-age adults (Economic Research ReportNo. 235). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/84467/err-235.pdf?v=4205.2
  3. Sonik, R. A. (2019). Health insurance and food insecurity: Sparking a potential virtuous cycle. American Journal of Public Health, 109(9), 1163–1165. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305252
  4. Dean, E. B., French, M. T., & Mortensen, K. (2020). Food insecurity, health care utilization, and health care expenditures. Health Services Research,55(Suppl 2), 883–893. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13283
  5. Hanson, K. L., & Connor, L. M. (2014). Food insecurity and dietary quality in US adults and children: A systematic review. The American Journal ofClinical Nutrition, 100(2), 684–692. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.114.084525
  6. Sun, Y., Liu, B., Rong, S., Du, Y., Xu, G., Snetselaar, L. G., Wallace, R. B., & Bao, W. (2020). Food insecurity is associated with cardiovascular andall‐cause mortality among adults in the United States. Journal of the American Heart Association, 9(19), e014629. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.119.014629
  7. Himmelstein, D. U., Dickman, S. L., McCormick, D., Bor, D. H., Gaffney, A., & Woolhandler, S. (2022). Prevalence and risk factors for medical debtand subsequent changes in social determinants of health in the US. JAMA Network Open, 5(9), e2231898. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.31898
  8. Boone-Heinonen, J., Evenson, K. R., Song, Y., & Gordon-Larsen, P. (2010). Built and socioeconomic environments: Patterns and associations withphysical activity in US adolescents. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 7(1), 45. https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-7-45
  9. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2022). National health care spending in 2021: Decline in federal spending outweighs greater use of healthcare. Health Affairs. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2022.01397
  10. Texas Health and Human Services. (2023). Data Brief: Food insecurity in Texas and Texas Legislative Districts. https://sph.uth.edu/research/centers/dell/legislative-initiatives/data-brief-food-insecurity-in-texas-and-texas-legislative-districts
  11. U.S. Census Bureau. (2022). American Community Survey 1-year Estimates. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  12. Rabbitt, M. P., Reed-Jones, M., Hales, L. J., & Burke, M. P. (2024). Household food security in the United States in 2023 (Report No. ERR-337). U.S.Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. https://doi.org/10.32747/2024.8583175.ers
  13. Berkowitz, S. A., Seligman, H. K., & Choudhry, N. K. (2014). Treat or eat: Food insecurity, cost-related medication underuse, and unmet needs. TheAmerican Journal of Medicine, 127(4), 303-310.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2014.01.002
  14. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. (n.d.). Credit Reports and Credit Scores. https://www.federalreserve.gov/creditreports/pdf/credit_reports_scores_2.pdf
  15. National Association of Professional Background Screeners & HR.com. (2017). National Survey: Employers Universally Using BackgroundScreenings to Protect Employees, Customers and the Public. https://www.napbs.com/background-screening-research-2017.pdf
  16. The Aspen Institute. (2018). Consumer Debt: A Primer. https://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/consumer-debt-primer/
  17. Dobbie, W., Goldsmith-Pinkham, P., Mahoney, N., & Song, J. (2017). Bad credit, no problem? Credit and labor market consequences of bad creditreports (Staff Report No. 795). Federal Reserve Bank of New York. https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/staff_reports/sr795.pdf
  18. Urban Institute. (2024). Debt in America: An Interactive Map (Data from August 2023). http://urbn.is/2AnVzHa