The Intersection Of Physical, Mental, And Financial Health: What The Fintech Journey Can Teach Us 28-10-23, 14:24

FORBES MONEY FINTECH

The Intersection Of Physical,

Mental, And Financial Health:
What The Fintech Journey Can
Teach Us
Jennifer Tescher Contributor
Follow
I write about fintech, financial health and innovation.

0 Aug 24, 2022, 02:49pm EDT

Listen to article 7 minutes

The connection between different facets of our health is more obvious

than ever. The pandemic highlighted the ways decreased physical mental
health and physical health are intertwined –and recent research shows
that ongoing stressors around finances also impact mental and physical
health.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jennifertescher/2022/08/24/the-intersec…ncial-health-what-the-fintech-journey-can-teach-us/?sh=639bee5769f7 Página 1 de 7
The Intersection Of Physical, Mental, And Financial Health: What The Fintech Journey Can Teach Us 28-10-23, 14:24

GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

This interconnectedness means that even in the face of inflationary

pressures, rising medical costs and dwindling household savings, health
providers and systems have a unique opportunity to help improve people’s
financial health by extending their cycle of care beyond traditional
medical treatment plans. Already skilled at incorporating innovations
impacting patient care, the healthcare industry can borrow from the
fintech playbook to create and implement innovative solutions that
address patient finances by lowering the cost of care or creating more
flexible ways to pay.

But just as with medical conditions, the connection between money and
health is deep and varied with many different drivers.

The Financial Health Connection

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jennifertescher/2022/08/24/the-intersec…ncial-health-what-the-fintech-journey-can-teach-us/?sh=639bee5769f7 Página 2 de 7
The Intersection Of Physical, Mental, And Financial Health: What The Fintech Journey Can Teach Us 28-10-23, 14:24

Financial Health is achieved when individuals and families can manage

their day-to-day financial lives, weather financial shocks such as
unexpected medical events, and are poised to pursue opportunities and
thrive.

Poor financial health can lead to stress or skipped treatments that have
negative physical or mental health consequences. Conversely, good
physical and mental health can improve our financial prospects through
fewer sick days and better ability to focus.

MORE FROM FORBES ADVISOR

Best Travel Insurance Companies

By Amy Danise Editor

Best Covid-19 Travel Insurance Plans

By Amy Danise Editor

Research also shows that financial health is a better predictor of physical

and mental health outcomes than income alone, and the disproportionate
impacts COVID-19 has had on marginalized communities further
validates this.

Investing Digest: Know what's moving the financial markets and what
smart money is buying with Forbes Investing Digest.

Email address Sign Up

By signing up, you accept and agree to our Terms of Service (including the class action waiver and arbitration
provisions), and you acknowledge our Privacy Statement.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jennifertescher/2022/08/24/the-interse…ncial-health-what-the-fintech-journey-can-teach-us/?sh=639bee5769f7 Página 3 de 7
The Intersection Of Physical, Mental, And Financial Health: What The Fintech Journey Can Teach Us 28-10-23, 14:24

Social Determinants of Health

Consider medical debt, a spiraling financial concern in America that

clearly demonstrates this link. With one in five U.S. households holding
medical debt, it is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the country.

Often unexpected, the financial disruption and ruin caused by medical

debt can harm physical and mental health as well as social well-being. It
impairs people’s ability to pay for basic necessities like food or housing,
avoid credit card debt, save, and pursue education or career plans. It can
lead to debt collection calls, wage garnishment and a drop in credit scores
– all negative impacts to financial health.

But medical debt also carries health implications. People with medical
debt have triple the rate of mental health conditions such as anxiety,
stress and depression. They are also more likely to forgo care because of
costs, leading to worsening health conditions and possible larger bills in
the future if crisis strikes. Unexpected health costs leading to debt, which
then drives worsening health, creates a vicious interdependency that
becomes increasingly hard to break.

Medical debt and financial health more generally are key social
determinants of health, but more can be done. For example, there is an
enormous opportunity for health system players to to move further
upstream and address financial health as a primary driver of immediate
material security needs, such as housing, food, and transportation.

Our recent exploration of medical debt, funded by the Robert Wood

Johnson Foundation, sought to understand the role different players in

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jennifertescher/2022/08/24/the-interse…ncial-health-what-the-fintech-journey-can-teach-us/?sh=639bee5769f7 Página 4 de 7
The Intersection Of Physical, Mental, And Financial Health: What The Fintech Journey Can Teach Us 28-10-23, 14:24

the health ecosystem could play in tamping down or resolving medical

debt. We found - no surprise - that the complex and overlapping drivers of
medical debt require a more collaborative approach between
policymakers, hospital systems, insurers, and employers.

By working together to better align financial assistance and benefits with

consumer needs, help consumers make more informed decisions; and
proactively identify and support at-risk patients, these organizations can
more quickly and effectively reduce the negative impacts of social
determinants like medical debt.

Innovation, Collaboration and Impact

While it will take time to create this change, there are lessons learned
from the fintech sector. There, innovators leveraged technology to more
quickly understand consumers, establish measurement standards and
then connect data from and with legacy systems. These organizations
ultimately helped advance financial inclusion by embracing the
underlying premise that what is good for consumers is also good for
business.

Similarly, we must align healthcare and financial services providers,

policymakers, employers, insurers and innovators around the central
promise of doing well by doing good at the intersection of physical,
mental, and financial health. Businesses that support the health and
wellbeing alongside the financial health of their employees and customers
will earn greater loyalty, trust, and community reputation.

Technology innovators also have a role to play in bridging the gap between
health and financial health. The growing embrace of machine learning and

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jennifertescher/2022/08/24/the-interse…ncial-health-what-the-fintech-journey-can-teach-us/?sh=639bee5769f7 Página 5 de 7
The Intersection Of Physical, Mental, And Financial Health: What The Fintech Journey Can Teach Us 28-10-23, 14:24

artificial intelligence (AI) in both the health and financial fields could
provide one opportunity.

Tools that assess real-time, data-based observations of our financial

behaviors in concert with our health conditions could help identify new
connections and opportunities for treatment. For example, what if a
person’s wearable device reports reduced sleep and irritable stomach
issues for the same few days every month? AI would notice this trend and
scan for causality, recognizing those recurring days aligned with a
monthly car note and regularly low bank balances. An automated wallet
could then shift the due date to better align with available funds, helping
to reduce stress and digestive problems versus a visit to the doctor and
money on medication.

Of course, this type of approach requires big picture thinking and a deep
collaboration between fintech and healthtech innovators addressing
complex issues such as a mismatch in data measurements or how to
navigate privacy and ownership or racial bias in data. And while there is
generous room for technology innovation, tech alone will not solve all our
problems. There still needs to be a human element of supporting
consumers in making informed decisions about their health and wealth.

Regardless, the groundwork is being laid to understand how financial

health is one of the many drivers influencing better patient outcomes.
Now, we must come together as disparate industries around a common
understanding of the challenge, the interconnectedness of its origins and
an agreement to change the status quo.

Follow me on Twitter.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jennifertescher/2022/08/24/the-interse…ncial-health-what-the-fintech-journey-can-teach-us/?sh=639bee5769f7 Página 6 de 7
The Intersection Of Physical, Mental, And Financial Health: What The Fintech Journey Can Teach Us 28-10-23, 14:24

Jennifer Tescher Follow

I am the founder and CEO of the Financial Health Network, a nonprofit whose
mission is to improve financial health for all.

Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions

ADVERTISEMENT

Join Our Conversation

Commenting on this
Log in
article has ended

No one seems to
have shared
their thoughts
on this topic yet

Leave a
comment so
your voice will
be heard first.

Powered
by Terms | Privacy | Feedback

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jennifertescher/2022/08/24/the-intersec…ncial-health-what-the-fintech-journey-can-teach-us/?sh=639bee5769f7 Página 7 de 7