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Keep covered and carry on
Health insurance premiums continue to rise, with average marketplace premiums jumping an average of 21.7% and employer-sponsored plans rising 6% to 7%. The average annual family premium for employer coverage now tops $25,500
But what you pay for health insurance varies with location. The finance company WalletHub analyzed average premiums in all 50 states and compared it with the median household income (in parentheses)
Here are the top five states with the highest percentage of income spent on health insurance, and the five lowest
Highest percentage of income spent:
1. West Virginia (20.86%)
2. Vermont (19.05%)
3. Wyoming (17.16%)
4. Arkansas (14.87%)
5. Mississippi (14.05%)
Lowest percentage of income spent:
46. Minnesota (5.89%)
47. Virginia (5.86%)
48. Massachusetts (5.49%)
49. New Hampshire (4.77%)
50. Maryland (4.66%)
Body of knowledge
The aorta in the human heart is the body’s largest artery, with a diameter nearly equal a garden hose. The heart generates enough pressure to theoretically squirt blood up to 30 feet across a room, but that would be a bad idea
Get me that. Stat!
An analysis of 2026 search data by Unscramblerer found among people seeking definitions of words online, “love” came in second (274,000 searches) followed by “empathy” (265,600 searches)
That’s both unsurprising and reassuring. Love and empathy are critical to well-being, and we all seek to better understand both
But the most searched word definition in 2026 was “gaslighting,” a form of psychological manipulation in which someone consistently distorts the truth to make another person doubt their own memories, perceptions or sanity
No, really
Doc talk
Postprandial somnolence — a normal state of drowsiness or lassitude following a meal. It’s triggered by activation of the parasympathetic nervous system in response to a massive amount of food in the gastrointestinal tract and hormonal/neurochemical changes that induce sleepiness
Amino acids like tryptophan are popularly touted as triggers, but the cause is more likely the amount of food consumed than the type. Some people refer to postprandial somnolence as a “food coma,” though usually they revive for seconds
Phobia of the week
Masklophobia and maskaphobia — fear of costumed characters
Best medicine
Patient #1: You’re looking gloomy. What’s wrong?
Patient #2: My doctor thinks I’m paranoid
Patient #1: He told you that?
Patient #2: No, but I can tell
Observation
“Armpits lead lives of quiet perspiration.”
— Patrick Murray
Medical history
This week in 1897, physician Sir Ronald Ross made a key breakthrough when he discovered malaria parasites while dissecting a mosquito. August 20 is now known as World Mosquito Day to celebrate the discovery, not the insect
Medical myths
There’s some truth to the popular notion that a big cup of strong, black coffee can help after imbibing too much alcohol, but it has nothing to do with reversing the effects of drink. Coffee does not get rid of alcohol in the system. That’s a product of time and your kidneys. The “sobering” effect appears to be coffee’s ability (or rather, caffeine’s) to partly reverse the sedating effect of alcohol
Med school
Over the centuries, different cultures in antiquity entertained some highly unusual notions about oral hygiene. Match these practices with the country where they occurred
1. Brush teeth with powdered mixture of ashes, eggshells, mouse skulls, hooves, oyster shells, pumice, bones and pulverized charcoal (derived from burnt bones). Rinse with urine
2. Brush teeth with mix of crushed rock, salt, mint, iris flowers and pepper
3. Brush teeth with mixture of ginseng, herbal mints and salt. No rocks required
a) China
b) Egypt
c) Ancient Rome
Answers: 1c; 2b; 3a
Takeaway: If you kissed a Roman back in the day, urine trouble
Epitaphs
“When I am dead, I hope it may be said: His sins were scarlet, but his books were read.”
— Anglo-French writer Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953)
LaFee is vice president of communications for the Sanford Burnham Prebys research institute
