Four Ways Climate Change Impacts our Health

1. Rising Temperatures. Beyond dehydration and heat stroke, extreme and prolonged heat can worsen chronic conditions and increase the likelihood of strokes, heart attacks, and cancer. Higher temperatures have also been associated with increased incidence of Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases – one study linked a 1.5- degree rise in the average temperature to an increase in hospital admissions for Alzheimer’s patients³
2. Extreme weather. Flash flooding, the most common natural disaster, results in injuries and drownings. A rise in flooding and storms also presents threats to our water quality, leading to more waterborne illnesses and bacterial diseases.
3. Poor air quality. More frequent droughts result in more intense wildfires, which can cause or aggravate respiratory illnesses. During the 2023 Canadian wildfire smoke episodes, U.S. emergency room visits for asthma increased by 17%.⁴ Increased air pollution also heightens our risk for cancer and allergy-related illnesses like asthma and hay fever.
4. Vector-borne diseases. Extreme rainfall and longer warm seasons cause changes in insect behaviors. The CDC estimates that approximately 476,000 Americans are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease each year with numbers growing as ticks that carry the Lyme-causing bacteria expand their ranges.⁵

Paying for the Health Effects of Climate Change 

More frequent and intense weather events caused by climate change naturally lead to more emergency room visits, chronic conditions, and hospitalizations. As climate change persists, you may be wondering how you can plan for unexpected health care  expenses. While your health insurance can help significantly, it won’t cover deductibles, co-pays, and non-medical expenses. Supplemental health insurance offers a safety net by providing cash benefits that can help reduce the financial impact of high deductibles and other out-of-pocket medical and non-medical costs:

Accident Insurance pays benefits for covered injuries and for treatments resulting from a covered accident, including surgery, ambulance, emergency care, and more.

Critical Illness Insurance pays benefits upon diagnosis of a covered critical illness or specified event such as Alzheimer’s disease or cancer.

Hospital Indemnity Insurance provides benefits for admission and hospital stays, including ICU care.

As more frequent and intense weather events caused by climate change lead to more injuries, serious illnesses, and hospitalizations, Supplemental Health insurance can help protect you from catastrophic costs. Learn more.

¹ “The Summer of 2023 Was the Hottest in 2,000 Years,” Scientific American.com, May 14, 2024.
² “We must fight one of the world’s biggest health threats: climate change,” World Health Organization, www.who.int/news-room, November 13, 2023.
³ “5 ways the climate crisis is affecting our health,” World Economic Forum, www.weforum, May 14, 2024.
⁴  “Asthma-Associated Emergency Department Visits During the Canadian Wildfire Smoke Episodes — United States, April– August 2023,” CDC.gov, August 25, 2023.
⁵ “Lyme Innovation: Data-Driven, Patient-Centered Innovation for Tickborne Diseases,” healthdata.gov, accessed June 19, 2024.

Group Insurance coverage is issued by The Prudential Insurance Company of America, a Prudential Financial company, Newark, NJ.

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