By KELVIN CHAN

The Christmas holiday season is a time to step back from the busy pace of modern life and connect with our nearest and dearest instead of screens, apps and chatbots.

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Here are some suggestions on how to unplug from the online world for the next few weeks as you sit down for a festive meal, exchange gifts or take time out for some self-reflection.

Do not disturb me

Your phone already has built-in features that can help you stop getting distracted.

To temporarily silence all those attention-seeking notifications, use the Focus setting on your iPhone or Android device. This mode is designed to stop interruptions when you want to concentrate. You can customize it by blocking specific apps or muting only when you’re doing certain things, like sleeping or reading.

Android and iOS also have related screen time controls to manage overall device usage. Too much Instagram scrolling? Limit yourself to a daily total of 20 minutes.

There are other tricks you could try, like turning the screen gray to make it less appealing. On iPhones or Android devices, tweak the color filter or adjustment settings. On Android, activating Bedtime Mode also turns the screen gray.

Delete apps

If you need to be more strict with yourself, then delete any or apps you’re addicted to. An effective way to stop looking at your phone is by removing those apps that you spend the most time scrolling through, even if temporarily. You can always reinstall them again if the withdrawal symptoms become too much.

Get outside …

When the temperature drops, it’s tempting to hunker down inside and stay cozy. But don’t sit on the couch all day. Head outdoors, away from Wi-Fi signals. If it’s been snowing where you are, have a snowball fight or go sledding. To keep your hands warm, don’t forget to put on bulky mittens — which your phone’s touch screen won’t respond to.

TOPSHOT – A Christmas lights display is seen on a house in Alexandria, Virginia, December 23, 2014. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo by Saul LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Even if there’s no snow, take a walk in the woods, a park or along some tree-lined streets. Time spent outdoors, and away from screens, can benefit your mental health and physical well-being. There’s even a term for it: forest bathing.

… And touch grass

There’s an app you can use to force yourself to — literally — get back in touch with nature. Touch Grass takes its name from a viral catchphrase for when someone has lost their connection to the real world because they’re consumed by what’s on their screens.

It’s similar to other apps designed to restrict screen time by forcing users to take a timeout from scrolling. The difference is that Touch Grass requires users to go outside and take a picture of themselves physically touching some grass.

Touch Grass has a free service level that allows you to block two apps. I found it was quite effective at stopping me from opening two of my favorite time-wasters, Reddit and Instagram, though I ended up spending more time on other apps like Facebook. To block all apps, you’ll have to shell out for a subscription — $6 a month or $50 annually.

If you can’t find grass because it’s winter, there’s also the option to touch snow or sand. It’s only available for iPhones so far, but there are copycat versions for both iOS and Android, though we haven’t tested them.

Putting pen to paper

When was the last time you sent a Christmas card? Most digital natives find it easier to type out holiday greetings or send digital cards over chat apps, than to put pen to paper.

The consequence of all the time that we spend tapping, typing or swiping on our devices is that handwriting is becoming something of a dying art. But there are neurological and cognitive benefits of handwriting, research suggests. For example, taking notes by hand is a better way for students to learn and to remember information.

So use this time of year to write a thoughtful message to someone special, a letter to a long-lost friend, or thank you notes for presents received.

Pick up a book

If you still don’t know what you want for Christmas, why not ask for a book? It’s easy to find inspiration and ideas at this time of year, when many people like to share the books they’ve read over the past 12 months, and outlets including The Associated Press compile their list of the year’s best books.

Reading long-form literature or non-fiction has many benefits that can’t be gained from glancing at short-form bursts of text on your device, including a deeper understanding of a topic, developing empathy, increasing your focus and concentration and more.

Lock your device up

If you’re looking for a last-minute gift, how about a time-lock vault to put your devices out of reach for, say, 15 minutes, a few hours or even weeks?

There are plenty of versions for sale online. For about $30, I bought a battery-powered gray plastic model that can hold several smartphones. The instruction leaflet says it’s intended to “enhance self-discipline.”

Punch in the amount of time — up to 30 days — and a digital display will count down until it unlocks. The lid has portholes so you can thread in cables for charging while you wait.

One evening, I locked my phone up for an hour and then grabbed my laptop to do some online Christmas shopping. But my plans were foiled because I forgot that authentication requests for my credit card and Amazon went to my phone.

Not-as-smart phones

For another gift idea, consider putting a brick phone under the tree. Also known as a feature phone, these devices cater to those who want a back-to-basics phone without all the digital stimulation that comes with a smartphone.

Retro devices from Nokia evoke the early days of the cellphone era — no touch screens, numeric keypads and throwback video games like Snake. Most can only make voice calls and send text messages.

If that sounds too primitive, there are so-called digital minimalist phones that serve a similar market niche. Devices from Light, Punkt and Balance offer sleek, modern designs but with a stripped-down experience.

Is there a tech topic that you think needs explaining? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your suggestions for future editions of One Tech Tip.

The holidays can bring overnight houseguests. Bless their little hearts, they appreciate a delicious start to the day, breakfast dishes that make them feel like they are getting special treatment. These dishes are a delicious way to make the first meal of the day more festive.

A combination of eggs and cheese is so inviting. Classically, bacon and egg quiche comes to mind, a recipe that can show off some shortcuts that neither jeopardize taste nor appearance. Another tantaliziing option is from culinary guru Jacques Pepin. He makes a dish he calls a “soufflan,” that combines the delicious elements of both flan and souffle. The quiche uses Swiss or Gruyere cheese, while the soufflan shows off both cream cheese and cottage cheese.

Ina Garten’s Breakfast Panna Cotta is scrumptious, and most of the work can be done a day in advance; the luscious creamy mixture chills in the fridge overnight. Just before serving top each panna cotta with crunchy storebought granola and mixed berries.

With any of these concoctions, your guests will feel the holiday love.

Quiche Lorraine boasts a great combination of flavors and textures, with its smooth cheesiness offsetting the chewiness of the bacon. (Photo by Cathy Thomas)

Quiche Lorraine

The combination of flavors and contrasting textures make Quiche Lorraine a favorite for brunch or breakfast. Its smooth cheesiness offers the perfect foil to the crunch of the crust and the salty-sweet chewiness of bacon.

If you like, accompany it with a bowl of mixed fruit, and if desired, a storebought coffee cake or quick bread.

I take a major shortcut that doesn’t sacrifice the quiche’s flavor or appearance. The holiday can be hectic, so I use — heaven forbid — prepared refrigerated dough (the kind that comes rolled into a cylinder). After it’s placed in the pie pan and crimped it looks made-from-scratch cozy.

To prevent the edge of the crust from over-browning, it is covered during the final segment of baking. Strips of aluminum foil work (not the heavy-duty kind), but I really love the convenience of using a pie crust ring. Made of aluminum or silicone, this gizmo fits over the edge of the pie crust. Often the edge of the crust gets brown long before the filling is cooked. So, once it is nicely browned, the ring tops the exposed crust while the egg-cheese-bacon filling finishes cooking.

Yield: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 rounds of prepared pie dough, such as the 14.1-ounce refrigerated Pillsbury Pie Crusts

Sheet of aluminum foil

Nonstick cooking spray

About 2 cups of dried beans or pie weights (metal pellets)

5 ounces bacon, about 6 to 8 slices, divided use

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pinch of ground white pepper

Pinch of nutmeg

1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese or Gruyere cheese; see cook’s notes

Cook’s notes: In the Alsace-Lorraine region of northeast France, classic recipes for Quiche Lorraine don’t include cheese. I just can’t help it, I like to add cheese. Sometimes I add a minced green onion along with the bacon in the custard (in Step #5).

DIRECTIONS

1. Arrange oven rack to lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Ease 1 round sheet of chilled pie dough into 9-inch pie pan (avoid stretching dough). To prevent shrinkage, press dough with a bent finger where sides of pan meet the bottom. Using a second sheet of pie dough, cut 3 or 4 (1/2-inch wide at widest part) crescent shaped pieces. Fit those crescent shaped pieces under the edge of dough to extend it. To make a raised edge that can be crimped (also called fluted or scalloped), fold edge of dough under. Press the folded edge gently between your thumb and index fingers to make a raised edge. Make this raised edge as even and uniform as possible. To crimp, place index finger of left hand against inside edge of pie. Place thumb and index finger of right hand on either side of left index finger and gently pinch. Move thumb to where your left index finger was and repeat process until entire pie is crimped.

3. Lightly spray one side of a sheet of aluminum foil with nonstick spray. Place foil sprayed-side down on dough with excess foil folded loosely over crust’s edge. Place beans (or pie weights) on top of foil and smooth beans or weights into an even layer. This will prevent the bottom crust from bubbling during initial baking. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 17 minutes, or until dough no longer looks wet. Remove from oven and cautiously remove foil and weights. Return crust to oven and bake 5 to 6 minutes, until crust begins to brown.

4. Meanwhile, cook bacon until crisp in large skillet on medium heat; drain on paper towels. When cool enough to handle, coarsely chop bacon.

5. Decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees. In large bowl, combine eggs, half-and-half, salt, pepper and nutmeg; whisk until blended. Stir in 3/4 of the bacon and cheese. Pour into pie crust. Put strips of foil or pie ring on edge of crust to prevent over-browning. Bake 25 minutes, or until custard is set around edge.

6. Sprinkle remaining bacon over surface. Bake until center is just barely set, 5 to 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes before serving. A cooled quiche can be refrigerated in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap for up to 2 days (but it tastes the very best fresh from the oven, slightly cooled.

Jacques Pepin’s Easy ‘Soufflan’

In his cookbook dedicated to dishes that parents can cook with their children (or grandparents with their grandchildren), culinary guru Jacques Pepin explains that this easy-to-make egg dish is neither a classic flan nor a traditional souffle. In his “A Grandfather’s Lessons: In the Kitchen with Shorey” (Rux Martin, $30) he writes that it’s “a mixture of the two and could be called a “soufflan.”

Serve this dish right out of the oven and it will be puffy. Or, cool to lukewarm and it will deflate. It’s delicious either way and makes a welcome centerpiece for breakfast, brunch, or a simple dinner along with a mixed green salad tossed with an herbaceous vinaigrette.

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

One 16-ounce container cottage cheese

One 8-ounce container whipped cream cheese

4 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 tablespoons minced fresh chives

1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Place cottage cheese, cream cheese, eggs, salt and pepper in a food processor; process 10 to 15 seconds, or until smooth and well blended. Add chives and pulse once or twice to combine.

3. Rub a 4- to 5-cup gratin dish (oval baking dish) with olive oil. Add mixture from food processor. Place gratin dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until mixture is set. Serve immediately or allow to deflate and serve lukewarm.

Source: Adapted from “A Grandfather’s Lessons: In the Kitchen with Shorey” (Rux Martin, $30)

Ina Garten’s Breakfast Panna Cotta takes a dessert dish and adapts it for the start of the day by topping it with granola and fresh berries. (Photo by Cathy Thomas)

Ina’s Breakfast Panna Cotta

Yes, panna cotta is most often thought of as a dessert, it’s also a lovely breakfast treat when topped with granola and fresh berries. It’s an Italian pudding which translates from Italian as “cooked milk.” To pour the panna cotta mixture into glasses without drips down the sides, transfer the mixture into a glass measuring cup with a spout, then pour carefully into the center of each glass.

Yield: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 teaspoons (1 packet) unflavored gelatin

3 cups heavy whipping cream, divided use

2 cups plain whole milk yogurt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla

Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean

1 1/2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1/2 cup granulated sugar

For serving: 2 cups good granola

3 cups mixed fresh berries, such as blueberries, raspberries, and sliced strawberries, see cook’s notes

Cook’s notes: I took the liberty of adding fresh blackberries to the mixture of fresh berries (they are a favorite of mine).

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin on 3 tablespoons cold water. Stir and set aside for 10 minutes to allow the gelatin to dissolve.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups of cream, yogurt, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, and maple syrup.

3. Heat the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cream and the sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves (keep an eye on it). Off the heat, stir the softened gelatin into the hot cream and stir until dissolved. Pour the hot cream and gelatin mixture into the cream and yogurt mixture; stir to combine. Pour into 8 serving glasses and refrigerate uncovered until cold. When the panna cottas are thoroughly chilled, cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

4. Before serving sprinkle 1/4 cup of granola and 1/3 cup of mixed berries on each serving and serve cold.

Source: Ina Garten “Be My Guest with Ina Garten” Food Network

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Minnesota state officials have announced plans to conduct further analysis of the impacts of sulfate pollution on wild rice in Minnesota lakes and rivers. The announcement comes amid concerns that Minnesota’s standard that limits how much of the pollutant mines and other facilities can release into waters where wild rice grows — adopted in 1973 — is out of date.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said it will evaluate recent peer-reviewed scientific studies to validate the impacts of sulfates on wild rice while also working with third-party experts to better understand the variation of naturally occurring sulfate levels in different areas across the state.

The MPCA says the two analyses will take about six to nine months to finish and “could inform” the agency’s approach to implementing the state’s standard, which limits sulfate discharges to 10 milligrams per liter.

“At the end of this, we will have a better idea if there are different tools or approaches that we need to undertake with regards to implementing the sulfate wild rice standard,” explained MPCA Commissioner Katrina Kessler.

The announcement comes about three months after MPCA officials hosted a contentious public meeting on the Iron Range over proposed industrial wastewater permits for U.S. Steel’s Keewatin Taconite mine, known as Keetac, that for the first time imposed limits on sulfate discharges to comply with the state standard.

Environmental groups and Indigenous people have been demanding for years that the state enforce the standard, citing evidence showing that sulfate converts to sulfide in the sediment of lakes and rivers, and is toxic to wild rice. Called manoomin in the Ojibwe language, it is culturally significant to the state’s Ojibwe Nations, and wild rice is Minnesota’s official state grain.

But mine workers, labor union representatives and state legislators from northeast Minnesota have argued that the state’s sulfate pollution standard is flawed and out of date. They say installing pollution control equipment is cost-prohibitive, so enforcing the standard could force mines to close, potentially devastating the region’s economy.

U.S. Steel has asked the MPCA for a variance that would allow the mine to exceed the sulfate standard. The company argues it would cost more than $800 million to install the water treatment technology needed to meet the sulfate limit, with annual operating costs exceeding $100 million.

Mining officials argued at the public meeting in September that those investments would increase Keetac’s cost of production by $17.50 per ton, an amount that would make the mine significantly less competitive in a global marketplace.

“When people — hundreds of commenters — call for a reevaluation of the science,” said Kessler, “I think it is responsive for us to say, ‘OK, if they’re not confident in the state government’s implementation of the science or the state government’s understanding of the science,’ then it is important for the state to hire third-party researchers to scrutinize what the latest science says about the impacts of sulfate on wild rice.”

The state has conducted a similar analysis before. In 2011, following a lawsuit filed by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce to eliminate the standard, the state legislature asked the MPCA to study the rule and see if it needed updating.

Six years later, the agency proposed a complex, flexible formula that would determine different sulfate limits for each specific lake or stream. But a state administrative law judge rejected the proposal.

Paula Maccabee, executive director of the environmental group WaterLegacy, said the research conducted then showed the importance of keeping the standard in place to protect wild rice.

Assuming that the same level of scientific integrity and rigor is used this time, Maccabee said, “I think they’re going to get the same answers, that science supports the need for a sulfate standard to prevent slow decimation of wild rice by sulfide in the sediments.”

Maccabee also hopes that researchers consider that some Minnesota waterways may even require a sulfate limit stricter than the state standard. Sulfate not only impacts wild rice, but also converts mercury to a toxic form that accumulates in fish, endangering the health of people who eat the fish.

“I’m hoping that the science is not for the purpose of delay but for the purposes of making sure that our aquatic life and our state grain are properly protected,” Maccabee said.

While the studies are conducted, the MPCA says the state’s current sulfate standard will remain on the books, and the agency will evaluate permitting decisions on a case-by-case basis.

Part of the reason why the state has struggled with how to enforce the sulfate standard, Kessler said, is because wastewater treatment plants are not designed to remove sulfate from the water.

And the cost of adding the technology to treat for sulfate is expensive. Groups have warned that enforcing the standard could have much broader impacts beyond the mining industry, because municipal wastewater treatment plants, paper mills, agricultural processing plants and other facilities also discharge sulfate.

“And when you’re asking entities to spend lots of money, it’s very important that we’re doing it in a way that is grounded in science,” said Kessler, “as well as (providing) opportunities for treatment and funding into the future.”

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By Charlotte Huff, KFF Health News

David Garza sometimes feels as if he doesn’t have health insurance now that he pays so much to treat his Type 2 diabetes.

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His monthly premium payment of $435 for family coverage is roughly the same as the insurance at his previous job. But the policy at his current job carries an annual deductible of $4,000, which he must pay out-of-pocket for his family’s care until he reaches that amount each year.

“Now everything is full price,” said the 53-year-old, who works at a warehouse just south of Dallas-Fort Worth. “That’s been a little bit of a struggle.”

To reduce his costs, Garza switched to a lower-cost diabetes medication, and he no longer wears a continuous glucose monitor to check his blood sugar. Since he started his job nearly two years ago, he said, his blood sugar levels have inched upward from an A1c of 7% or less, the target goal, to as high as 14% at his most recent doctor visit in November.

“My A1c is through the roof because I’m not on, technically, the right medication like before,” Garza said. “I’m having to take something that I can afford.”

Plans with high deductibles — the amount that patients must pay for most medical care before insurance starts pitching in — have become increasingly common. In 2024, half of private-industry employees participating in medical care plans were offered this type of insurance, up from 38% in 2015, according to federal data. Such plans are also offered through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

With ACA marketplace premiums for next year increasing and many of the subsidies to help people pay for them poised to expire at year’s end, more people face tough choices as they weigh monthly premium costs against deductibles. To afford insurance at all, people may opt for a plan with low premium payments but with a high deductible, gambling that they won’t have any medical crises.

But high-deductible plans pose a particular challenge for those with chronic conditions, such as the 38 million Americans who live with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. Adults with diabetes who are involuntarily switched to a high-deductible plan, compared with adults on other types of insurance, face an 11% higher risk of being hospitalized with a heart attack, a 15% higher risk of hospitalization for a stroke, and more than double the likelihood that they’ll go blind or develop end-stage kidney disease, according to a study published in 2024.

“All of these complications are preventable,” said Rozalina McCoy, the study’s lead author.

Care vs. Cost

The initial rationale behind such high-deductible plans was to encourage people to become wiser health care shoppers, said McCoy, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. And they can be a good fit, proponents say, for people who don’t use a lot of medical care or who have cash on hand for a health crisis.

But while people with an excruciating earache will seek care, McCoy said, those with unhealthy blood sugar levels might not feel as urgent a need to seek treatment — despite the potential long-term damage — given the acute financial pain.

“You have no symptoms until it’s too late,” she said. “At that point, the damage is irreversible.”

Overall, medical care for people with diabetes costs insurers and patients an average of$12,022 annually to treat the disease, according to an analysis. Type 2 diabetes, the more common form, is diagnosed when the body can no longer process or produce enough insulin to adequately regulate blood sugars. With Type 1, the body can’t produce insulin. Those with the disease may end up on the financial hook not just for insulin and other types of medication but for related equipment.

Mallory Rogers, whose 6-year-old daughter, Adeline, has Type 1, calculates that it costs roughly $1,200 a month for insulin, a pump, and a continuous glucose monitor. That figure doesn’t include the cost of emergency supplies needed in case Adeline’s technology malfunctions. Those include another type of insulin, blood-testing strips, and a nasal spray that’s nearly $600 for a two-pack of vials — supplies that must be replaced once a year or more frequently.

Adeline Rogers Waibel, who has Type 1 diabetes, relies on insulin, a pump, and a continuous glucose monitor that together cost about $1,200 a month, not including emergency supplies in case her technology malfunctions. (Courtesy Mallory Rogers/KFF Health News/TNS)

“If she doesn’t have insulin, it would become an emergency situation within two hours,” said Rogers, a technology consultant who lives in Sanford, Florida. Rogers has been saving for the coming year when her daughter moves to the high-deductible health plan offered by Rogers’ employer, which has a $3,300 deductible for family coverage.

Taxing Decisions

Many insurance plans carry increasingly high deductibles. But to be defined as a high-deductible health plan — and thus be eligible to offer a health savings account — a plan’s deductible for 2026 must be at least $1,700 for an individual and $3,400 for a family, according to IRS rules.

Health savings accounts enable people to squirrel away money that can be rolled over from year to year to be used for eligible medical expenses, including prior to meeting a deductible. Such accounts, available through a plan or employer, can provide tax benefits. The contributions are limited to $4,400 individually and $8,750 for a family in 2026, and employers may contribute toward that total. Rogers’ employer pays $2,000 spread out over the year, and Garza’s contributes $1,200.

Rogers recognizes that she’s fortunate to have accumulated $7,000 so far in her health savings account to prepare for her daughter’s insurance shifting to Rogers’ plan.

“Adding a financial burden to an already very stressful medical condition, it hurts my heart,” she said, reflecting on those who can’t similarly stockpile. “Nobody asks to have diabetes, Type 1 or Type 2.”

The median deductible for employer health insurance plans was $2,750 in 2024, but deductibles can run $5,000 or higher, said George Huntley, CEO of both the Diabetes Leadership Council and Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition.

When deductibles are too high, Huntley said, routine maintenance is what patients skimp on: “You don’t take the drug that you’re supposed to take to maintain your blood glucose. You ration your insulin, if that’s your scenario. You take pills every other day.”

Garza knows he should do more to control his blood sugar, but financial realities complicate the equation. His previous health plan covered a newer class of diabetes medication, called a GLP-1 agonist, for $25 a month. He wasn’t charged for his remaining medications, which included blood pressure and cholesterol drugs, or his continuous glucose monitor.

With his new insurance, he pays $125 monthly for insulin and several other medications. He doesn’t see his endocrinologist for checkups more than twice a year.

“He wants to see me every three months,” Garza said. “But I told him it’s not possible at $150 a pop.”

Plus, he typically needs lab testing before each visit, an additional $111.

In 2026, the deductible for a “silver”-level plan on the marketplace will average $5,304 without cost-sharing reductions, according to an analysis from KFF, a health think tank that includes KFF Health News. For a“bronze”-level plan, it will be $7,476. An annual visit and some preventive screenings, such as a mammogram, would be covered free of cost to the patient.

Moreover, people comparing plan options, whether through their employer or the marketplace, should figure out their annual out-of-pocket maximum, which still applies after the deductible is met, Huntley said.

Garza’s family policy requires him to pay 20% until he reaches $10,000, for example.

Given Garza’s high blood sugar levels, his doctor prescribed a fast-acting form of insulin to take as needed with meals, which costs an additional $79 monthly. He planned to fill it in December, when he’s responsible for only 20% of the cost after he has hit his deductible but not yet reached his out-of-pocket maximum.

Garza likes his job despite its health plan, saying he’s never missed a day of work, even recently when he had a stomach bug. As of late 2025, he remained conflicted about whether to sign up for health insurance when his company’s enrollment period rolls around in mid-2026.

He worries that dropping insurance would place his family too much at risk if a major medical crisis struck. Still, he pointed out, he could then use the money he now spends on monthly premiums to directly pay for care to better manage his diabetes.

“I’m just stuck, to be honest with you,” he said.

©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.