A health crisis is not only a sudden change in your condition, but it also requires a rapid response to determine whether you need urgent or emergency care. A fall down the stairs or a crushing chest pain are both health crises, but it’s not always clear what qualifies as urgent and what requires immediate clinical attention (CDC, 2022b). In addition, many people struggle with chronic conditions that require constant monitoring and can create serious, life-altering reactions and symptoms at any time. This can lead to confusion in a critical moment, especially when the media and government urge everyone to stay home and protect themselves from infection, while some of your family members refuse to vaccinate or are skeptical of vaccine safety claims.
A growing number of adults have substantial debt from medical or dental bills (CDC, 2022). And a significant percentage of Americans are behind on their prescription drug payments or don’t have insurance at all. Health care debt is a major problem for Black and Hispanic adults, women, parents, those with low incomes, and people who live alone (CDC, 2022).
Most people think of a health crisis as dramatic, obvious, and rare—something that screams “emergency” like the car crash or the traumatic injury you see on TV. But it’s important to keep in mind that a health crisis can happen to anyone at any time, regardless of age or income. In fact, it’s a common cause of preventable death in the United States.
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