Consumer News: Could community gathering places help protect brain health?

A new survey finds anxiety is a major reason people put off care and experts say there are simple ways to make healthcare visits feel less overwhelming

• One in three patients say theyve skipped, canceled, or rescheduled a healthcare appointment because they felt anxious or nervous about going.

• Missing care can have consequences, including running out of medication, worsening symptoms, or eventually needing urgent or emergency care.

• Making appointments easier to manage including offering text reminders, online scheduling and easy rescheduling could help reduce anxiety and keep patients connected to care.

Going to the doctor sounds simple enough, but for some people, making it through the front door can be the hardest part. Anxiety about an appointment, fear of bad news, discomfort with medical settings, or even the stress of making a phone call can all lead patients to put off care.

A new survey from Tebra found that 71% of Americans have missed, canceled, or rescheduled a healthcare appointment in the past year. Even more striking, 33% said they did so specifically because they felt anxious or nervous about going.

That hesitation can have real consequences. Among patients who skipped care, 59% said they experienced a negative outcome, including running out of medication, having a health condition worsen, or eventually needing emergency care.

So why does healthcare anxiety have such a strong hold on patients and what can people do when nervousness keeps them from getting the care they need? ConsumerAffairs spoke with Kristin Trick, MA, LCMHC-QS, LPC-S, RPT-S, to better understand why healthcare visits can feel so overwhelming and how patients can make them a little easier to manage.

Why are patients skipping appointments?

The survey identified which types of appointments patients are most likely to cancel:

• Dentist appointments (49%)

• Specialists (29%)

• Gynecology/urology (28%)

• Blood tests/medical imaging (28%

From this information, it would appear that the occurrence of anxiety may stem from fears of pain, uncertainties about results, or the sensitivity of particular forms of treatment, Dr. Trick said. In addition, the survey showed that 64% of respondents would not inform their provider of the actual reason for their absence.

The risks of canceling appointments

Dr. Trick explained that delayed treatment is the most prominent consequence of canceling doctors appointments.

Among the individuals who failed to make it for their scheduled visit, 36% had to wait for a long time, 22% had exhausted all their medicines, 15% reported deteriorating symptoms, and 8% even ended up in an urgent care facility or an emergency room, she said. Health facilities can avoid all these results by ensuring that rescheduling is not a difficult process and by following up with those who fail to show up for important visits.

Another factor to consider: Patients who use insurance run the risk of shortening their coverage length when they miss appointments, which delays treatment.

If a client misses their November session and cant be rescheduled until January, their deductible will be reset so theyll pay a much higher rate when they couldve applied significant coverage in the original appointment, Dr. Trick said.

Digital tools can help ease anxiety

The survey also found that some patients feel anxious when they have to call a doctors office and cancel or reschedule their appointment.

The solution? Adopting the latest technology to help ease some of those nerves.

What patients want more than anything else is ease and convenience, Dr. Trick said. SMS alerts turned out to be the most frequently chosen solution with 58% of people selecting it; then came the online appointment booking sites with 43%, followed by one-click cancel or re-scheduling options with 37%; and lastly, email alerts received 30% of votes.

Digital convenience is a must if healthcare practices want to retain patients. The ability to reschedule an appointment electronically promotes efficiency, as well as supports privacy. Ive had several clients cancel appointments over the years due to medical emergencies or sudden deaths of loved ones. No one in those situations wants to manage their calendar or make phone calls to revise plans. Enabling appointment changes through text or portal messages takes the burden off patients who need to cancel due to crisis.

Decreasing anxiety

To help patients feel less anxious and ensure they have the ability to cancel and reschedule their appointments to maintain continuity of care, Dr. Trick shared some strategies for healthcare organizations.

• Inform patients in advance about what to expect during their appointment.

• Train employees to react empathetically towards anxious patients.

• Provide the possibility for private communication for those patients.

• Use supportive messaging in cases of canceled visits rather than a punitive one.

• Be clear and direct with cancellation policies and rescheduling options.

Anxiety originates from and is perpetuated by fear of the unknown, Dr. Trick said. When facts and details are provided and repeated, both written and verbal, clients anxiety about appointments decreases.

The most important insight here is that no-shows do not necessarily indicate a lack of concern for one's own health by patients. Rather, they are more likely caused by various obstacles such as anxiety, work-related issues, cost problems, and difficult scheduling procedures. By concentrating on getting rid of such obstacles by demonstrating empathy and increasing accessibility, practices can positively influence attendance and patient relations in general.

Two more months data will determine the actual number

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• The Senior Citizens League projects a 3.6% Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2027, down from its 3.8% estimate in July.

• A 3.6% adjustment would add about $69.75 to the average monthly benefit used in the groups analysis, raising it from $1,937.53 to $2,007.28.

• The estimate remains preliminary, with August and September inflation figures still to be included before the official adjustment is announced in October.

Social Security recipients could receive a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment in 2027, according to a new projection from The Senior Citizens League. However, two months of inflation data remain before the final figure is determined.

The nonpartisan seniors advocacy group lowered its forecast from 3.8% in July. Despite that decline, the projected adjustment would be 0.8 percentage points higher than the 2.8% increase beneficiaries received for 2026.

If a 3.6% adjustment took effect using the average benefit cited by the group, monthly payments would rise by approximately $69.75, from $1,937.53 to $2,007.28. The actual increase for each recipient would depend on the persons current benefit.

The forecast was updated after the release of July inflation figures, the first of three months used in calculating the annual Social Security adjustment. The official COLA is based on the average Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, during July, August, and September, compared with the corresponding average from the previous year.

August and September prices are key

Because data for August and September are not yet available, the 3.6% figure remains subject to change. The Social Security Administration is expected to announce the official 2027 adjustment in October, with higher payments beginning in January.

The Senior Citizens League produces a new forecast each month using a statistical model that incorporates consumer prices, interest rates, and the national unemployment rate. Its estimates change as economic conditions and new inflation data emerge.

For beneficiaries, a larger COLA can help offset rising household expenses, but it does not necessarily translate into an equivalent improvement in purchasing power. Older Americans often devote a substantial share of their income to housing, healthcare, insurance, utilities, and food. Increases in Medicare premiums can also absorb part of the additional Social Security income received by beneficiaries enrolled in the program.

But the devices remain stubbornly hard to stop

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Secret Service agents found 35 skimmers during a three-day New York City sweep in June, estimating they prevented $36.5 million in potential fraud.

• The devices can be installed in seconds, closely imitate legitimate terminals, and transmit stolen card data wirelessly.

• Skimming persists partly because most benefit cards still rely on vulnerable magnetic stripes instead of fraud-resistant chips.

The U.S. Secret Service is intensifying a nationwide campaign against payment-card skimming, conducting coordinated sweeps of stores, ATMs, and fuel pumps as increasingly discreet devices threaten consumers and recipients of government benefits.

In one of its largest recent operations, 14 teams inspected 3,935 payment terminals at 1,010 businesses across New York City from June 23 through June 25. Agents and local authorities removed 35 illegal skimmers 15 in Brooklyn, 10 in Queens, nine in the Bronx, and one in Manhattan preventing an estimated $36.5 million in potential losses, according to the Secret Services account of the operation.

The sweep, conducted with the New York Police Department, the city Department of Investigation, and the Agriculture Departments inspector general, was the fourth major skimming operation in the city. Together, those efforts have uncovered 133 devices and prevented an estimated $139 million in losses.

The New York crackdown follows a broad expansion of the Secret Services anti-skimming work. During 2025, the agency led 22 outreach operations, examined roughly 60,000 terminals at more than 9,000 businesses and removed 411 devices. It estimated the interventions prevented more than $428 million in fraud. Agents have continued conducting operations in cities including Dallas, Houston, and communities in Northern California this year.

A device that hides in plain sight

A skimmer captures information from a cards magnetic strip. Criminals may combine it with a false keypad or miniature camera that records a customers PIN, then encode the stolen information onto another card and use it to withdraw cash or make purchases.

Some skimmers are installed inside fuel pumps, where customers cannot see them. Others are molded overlays that fit so precisely over a point-of-sale terminal that they can pass a casual inspection.

The devices also require remarkably little time to deploy. Criminals can attach one in seconds, sometimes while an accomplice distracts a cashier. Once installed, a skimmer may store account information for later collection or transmit it wirelessly in real time, according to the FBIs skimming guidance.

That combination speed, concealment, and remote data collection creates a difficult enforcement problem. Removing a device stops one stream of theft, but it does not necessarily identify the installer or the broader criminal organization. Nor does it prevent another inexpensive overlay from being placed on the same terminal later.

What to do

Consumers can sharply reduce their risk with a few habits:

• Tap instead of swiping. Contactless cards and mobile wallets are generally safest. Otherwise, use the chip rather than the magnetic strip.

• Inspect the terminal. Look for loose, crooked, unusually thick, or mismatched parts. Gently pull on the card slot and keypad; dont use the machine if anything moves or looks altered.

• Cover the keypad. Shield your hand while entering a PIN to defeat hidden cameras.

• Choose safer machines. Prefer bank-owned indoor ATMs and fuel pumps visible to store employees. At gas stations, consider paying inside.

• Use credit instead of debit. Credit cards usually provide stronger fraud protections and dont expose money directly from your checking account.

• Enable instant transaction alerts. Review bank and benefit accounts frequently so fraudulent activity is caught quickly.

• Lock cards between uses. Many banking and EBT apps let users temporarily freeze cards or block out-of-state and online transactions.

• Protect EBT benefits. Change the PIN regularly particularly before monthly benefits arrive and avoid easy combinations such as 1234.

• Never disclose a PIN by phone, text or email. Banks and benefit agencies will not contact you to request it.

If you detect an unauthorized transaction, immediately lock the card, contact the issuer, change the PIN, and request a replacement. Report suspected skimming to the store or ATM operator and the FBIs Internet Crime Complaint Center.

A new study finds sleep quality may play a bigger role than screen time, exercise or diet when mental health symptoms affect adolescents daily lives

• Sleep stood out: Sleep quality was the strongest lifestyle factor connecting mental health symptoms with academic and social difficulties.

• Screen time mattered, too: Reducing screen time was the second-strongest factor for academic functioning, though its effects were smaller than sleep.

• Its not a cure-all: Researchers say better sleep may help, but it shouldnt replace professional mental health care when a child is struggling.

When a child or young teen is dealing with anxiety, depression, or other mental health symptoms, parents may focus on how those issues affect mood. But those challenges can also show up in everyday life, including school performance and relationships with friends.

A new study from researchers at UC Davis suggests that sleep quality may be an especially important piece of that puzzle. Researchers looked at four lifestyle factors sleep, screen time, physical activity, and diet and found that sleep was the strongest factor connecting mental health symptoms with academic and social functioning in early adolescence.

The findings don't mean that getting better sleep will solve mental health problems. Instead, they point to sleep as one potentially manageable factor that could help support young people who are already experiencing difficulties.

"This finding surprised us," researcher Jason Smucny, said in a news release. "We expected sleep to be important, but we didn't expect it to stand out so clearly above other lifestyle factors, particularly screen time.

How the researchers studied it

The researchers analyzed data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, following children across three waves when they were approximately 10 to 13 years old. The academic analysis included 6,754 participants, while the analysis of social problems included 7,550.

They examined whether four lifestyle factors sleep quality, weekend screen time, physical activity, and adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet helped explain relationships between mental health symptoms and later outcomes.

The researchers looked at symptoms including depression, anxiety, and distressing psychotic-like experiences. They then examined two outcomes measured later: school grades and social problems.

They also considered factors such as age, sex, and study site, along with environmental circumstances including financial adversity, family conflict, and the school environment.

What the results mean for families

Sleep consistently emerged as the standout factor.

For academic functioning, sleep quality accounted for 36.3% of the association between anxiety and later academic performance, 18.5% of the association involving depression, and 8.3% involving distressing psychotic-like experiences. Screen time was generally the second-strongest factor, while exercise and diet had smaller effects.

The connection was even more striking when researchers looked at social problems. Sleep was the only lifestyle factor that consistently showed a significant mediating effect across depression, anxiety, and distressing psychotic-like experiences, accounting for roughly 20% to 23% of those associations.

There was an important caveat, though: the study was observational, so it can't prove that poor sleep causes academic or social problems. The researchers also found that financial adversity and other environmental challenges could change these relationships.

For families, the takeaway is relatively simple: sleep is worth paying attention to when a young person is struggling but it's one piece of a much bigger picture, not a replacement for mental health care.

Sleep is something parents and families can address, researcher Tara Niendam said in the release. While it won't solve every mental health challenge, healthy sleep routines are a practical way to support a child's emotional well-being and day-to-day functioning."