Health Affairs December 11, 2025
Fenaba R. Addo

Consumer debt is a public health concern that is strongly associated with racial inequality. There is a need for more research exploring these relationships, but current evidence points toward steps that policy makers can take now to address debt as a social determinant of health and health equity.

KEY POINTS:

  • Black Americans have been systematically excluded from wealth accumulation through policies and practices that increase debt burdens and limit asset building, leading to chronic financial vulnerability and worse health outcomes.
  • Debt negatively influences health through resource constraints, financial stress, and social stigma. These mechanisms limit access to health care, increase risky health behaviors, and cause psychological distress, and they disproportionately affect Black Americans.
  • Evidence...

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