More Americans are losing health insurance—and everyone will pay

Plus: 9/11-linked illnesses, how to lose your age spots, and more health news  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Mandy Oaklander | September 08, 2026     A surge in uninsured Americans is coming. With the Trump Administration's changes to Medicaid, experts predict that a significant number of people facing higher costs will drop coverage altogether. They're not the only ones who will be affected, my colleague Alana Semuels reports for TIME. For her new story out today, Alana talked to health policy experts, heads of advocacy groups, patients, and even a hospital CEO about how we all pay more when health care becomes harder to secure. TODAY’S TOPICS The age-spot playbook 9/11’s lasting health toll New tests for endometriosis         PLEASE ADVISE Here’s a great question we received from a reader: Over the years, I’ve accumulated so many brown spots on my face, arms, and hands that I could pass as a baby leopard. What can I safely do—either at home or at a dermatologist’s office—to lighten or remove them? First, I appreciate the baby-leopard visual. Second—and more importantly—don’t start trying to erase a spot until you’re confident you know what it is. A true age spot, also called a solar lentigo, is usually flat, evenly tan or brown, and surrounded by a smooth, well-defined border, says Dr. Rebecca Dufner, a board-certified dermatologist in Plano, Texas. It also tends to “sit there quietly year after year.” A spot that appears suddenly; changes in size, shape, or color; or starts itching, bleeding, crusting, or refusing to heal needs a dermatologist’s attention. The same goes for an “ugly duckling” that simply looks different from all its neighbors. Once a dermatologist has confirmed you’re dealing with harmless age spots, you have two basic options: fade them gradually at home, or remove them more quickly in the office. Prescription retinoids and azelaic acid are among the strongest topical options, Dufner says. Over-the-counter products containing vitamin C, niacinamide, kojic acid, arbutin, glycolic acid, or thiamidol may also help—but don’t expect your spots to vanish by next weekend. Topical treatments are “a slow game—think months, not days,” she says. Skip the internet remedies involving lemon juice, apple-cider vinegar, or hydrogen peroxide. They can irritate or even burn your skin, potentially leaving you with more discoloration than you started with. Dufner also advises steering clear of high-strength, unregulated “skin-bleaching” creams sold online. If you want faster or more dramatic results, a dermatologist might recommend a laser or light-based treatment, chemical peel, or cryotherapy, which involves freezing the spots. The right choice depends partly on your skin tone and how delicate your skin is. An overly aggressive treatment—or the wrong laser setting—can cause irritation and unwanted pigmentation. “Gentler is smarter,” Dufner says. Start topical ingredients slowly, moisturize regularly, and make sure the dermatologist performing a procedure has experience treating your skin type. Whichever route you choose, sunscreen is nonnegotiable. Apply a broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher every day, and add hats, shade, and sun-protective clothing when you’ll be outside. Even successfully treated spots can return, and new ones can appear. As Dufner puts it: “Treat the spot, then protect your skin from the sun so you don’t keep making new ones.” –Angela Haupt, Editor, Health & Wellness Got a social dilemma of your own? Send it our way to healthmatters@time.com, and we might tackle it in a future edition.         SPONSORED Looking for the best way to reclaim your health? Factor offers chef-crafted, dietitian-approved meals ready to eat in 2 minutes. Choose from 100+ weekly meals, including High Protein, GLP-1 Support, Calorie Smart, and Keto options. Get 50% off your first Factor box + Free Breakfast for a year *1 free breakfast item per box for 1 year while subscription active. Try Factor Now         BIG NUMBER 10,000 The number of Fire Department of New York (FDNY) members living with a 9/11-related illness, according to research recently released by Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office. Nearly half of those members have cancer. —Alana Semuels, Senior Correspondent         SPONSORED Experts say to ditch your old cutting boards, here’s why Your old plastic and wood cutting boards could be making you sick from microplastics, toxic mold, and hidden bacteria. Here’s the hottest-selling upgrade. Get 40% OFF today.         WHAT WE’RE READING Endometriosis can take years to diagnose. Laura Ungar at the Associated Press looks at promising new tests that could help patients get answers sooner. Thousands died from heat-related reasons during the summer of 2026—U.K.’s hottest on record—and many were elderly adults living in care homes, whose families have questions about their final hours, reports Jessica Murray for the Guardian. The Trump Administration has canceled millions of grants from the Office of Minority Health for services like cancer screenings and postpartum visits. Instead, it is focusing on infertility, including addressing low sperm count, Paige Winfield Cunningham and Eric Katz write for NOTUS.         SPONSORED Your K-Cups Sat in a Warehouse for Months Grocery store pods spend months going factory → warehouse → truck → shelf, losing the flavor oils that make coffee taste like coffee. Angelino's roasts, packs, and ships within days — 50+ flavors, compatible with Keurig®, from 39¢ a cup. New customers save 15%, no code needed. Try Fresh-Roasted Pods     EMAIL US: healthmatters@time.com More Newsletters from Click to sign up. THE BRIEF +D.C. 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Why you shouldn't work on Labor Day

Plus: promises you shouldn't keep, the cancer risk of flying, and more health news  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Mandy Oaklander | September 07, 2026     Happy Labor Day! I hope you can get some quality rest today. So does Kara Alaimo, a professor of communication at Fairleigh Dickinson University and author of a new piece for TIME making the case for why you shouldn't work at all on Labor Day. We deserve a break from the "infinite workday," after all. "Being pulled in so many directions at the same time is awful for our health and the quality of our work, for a simple reason: The human brain can’t multitask," Alaimo writes. So make this your homework for today: don't send that work email. It can wait until tomorrow. TODAY’S TOPICS Why you shouldn’t keep every promise Got a question for us? Pilots, flight attendants, and cancer risk         QUICK CHAT Promises you shouldn’t keep When Sue Ryan was in the throes of early love, she and her husband made the kind of promise many couples make: They’d take care of each other at home, no matter what. Years later, after he developed Alzheimer’s disease, Ryan ultimately moved him into a care community. During our recent conversation about caregiving, she told me there’s a name for vows like the one they made: “promises you’re not meant to keep.” I wanted to know what she meant. —Angela Haupt, Editor, Health & Wellness This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Eugene Mymrin—Getty Images What exactly is a “promise you’re not meant to keep”? When you’re young and in love, you might promise each other, “We’re never going to put each other in a home. We’re going to take care of each other.” Or you might make that promise to a parent. You’re saying it out of love, and they may be saying it out of fear. But you have no idea what the future is going to look like. Why might keeping that promise eventually stop being the loving thing to do? Say your dad develops dementia. He might not recognize you. He might think you’re someone trying to hurt him, and he could hurt you without even knowing it. You simply couldn’t have imagined that situation when you made the promise. You may not be qualified to provide the care he needs—and keeping him at home may not be best for him, either. How did you make that decision with your own husband? I moved my husband into a care community because it was the wisest choice for his lifestyle and safety—and mine. He was a very social person, and I couldn’t provide enough activity at home to keep him stimulated. When you make these decisions, you have to look not only at safety but also at what kind of life is best for the person you love. But how do you get past the feeling that you broke your word? Instead of asking, “Did I keep the promise?” ask: “What’s the wisest choice for the health of both of us?” The caregiver matters, too. Holding yourself to a promise made under completely different circumstances can leave you exhausted, sick, and afraid to tell anyone how much you’re struggling.         SPONSORED 2 minutes. Your URL. A customer profile worth using. Most founders can describe their product. They can't describe their customer. Not in a way that actually changes how they sell. HubSpot for Startups built a free tool to fix that. Paste in your URL, answer a few quick questions, and it generates a structured profile of your best-fit customer. Firmographics, buying triggers, the works. Takes 2 minutes. No spreadsheet required. Build Your Free ICP.         TODAY I LEARNED The risks medical workers won’t take A recent Threads post asked doctors, EMTs, and other medical professionals which activities they’d never try after treating other people’s injuries. The answers made me reconsider several seemingly innocuous choices. One orthopedic technician ruled out sledding after seeing people compress their spines. A former EMT said motorcycles. These are personal anecdotes, not scientific risk assessments—but some have evidence to back them up. Motorcyclists, for example, are nearly 27 times more likely to die per mile traveled than passengers in cars. And one study counted more than 220,000 sledding-related ER visits over a decade, often following collisions. My takeaway: Always wear a helmet when you’re riding something that moves, and sit feet-first while sledding. —A.H.         SPONSORED Daily news for curious minds. Be the smartest person in the room. 1440 navigates 100+ sources to deliver a comprehensive, unbiased news roundup — politics, business, culture, and more — in a quick, 5-minute read. Completely free, completely factual. Sign up now!         PLEASE ADVISE Ask the health team Have a burning health or wellness question? Wondering how to handle a tricky social situation? Please write to healthmatters@time.com, and we’ll weigh in weekly in the newsletter.         SPONSORED 100 CLI tools that separate top engineers from everyone else AI can write your code. It can't run your stack. Engineers who stay valuable know their terminal cold. The Code built the 100 CLI Tools, 2026 Edition, to showcase the stack top teams run on. Sign up and get the toolkit free, plus a 5-minute daily newsletter to stay 6 months ahead. Claim your CLI toolkit         WHAT WE’RE READING Pilots and flight attendants face an increased risk of cancer, write Vishal R. Patel, Christopher M. Worsham, and Anupam Jena for TIME. But casual flyers don’t have to worry. How do you rebuild a career after prison? Cathy Bussewitz at the Associated Press follows people who found work, stability, and purpose after coming home. Would you watch yourself brush your teeth—from inside your mouth? Zoe Wood at the Guardian gets a look at Dyson’s new toothbrush, which livestreams your cleaning to an app.     EMAIL US: healthmatters@time.com More Newsletters from Click to sign up. THE BRIEF +D.C. BRIEF +FUTURE PROOF +INSIDE TIME +IN THE LOOP +WORTH YOUR TIME + Connect with TIME PRIVACY POLICY   © 2026 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved. TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508 Boone, IA 50037-0508, United States Unsubscribe