944 - How Credit Scores Impact Your Health

About this episode: Credit scores are more than just a number—they can determine your ability to access critical financial assets like loans, leases, and jobs that, in turn, have a huge impact on your health. In this episode: Professor Catherine Ettman shares new research that explores the relationship between low credit scores and mental health, and discusses a recent ruling reinstating medical debt as a metric of creditworthiness. Guest: Catherine K. Ettman, PhD, is an assistant professor in Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she studies population mental health. Host: Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs. Show links and related content: Americans' medical debt can stay in credit reports, judge rules. What does that mean?—NPR Area-level credit scores and symptoms of depression and anxiety in adults—American Journal of Epidemiology An Asset Framework to Guide Nonhealth Policy for Population Health—JAMA Health Forum Transcript information: Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel. Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.