The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a parade of health, medical and community groups are launching a national campaign to ‘amplify the voices and experiences of people affected by high healthcare costs.”
Funded by RWJF, the effort called “One Nation, Overcharged” will begin this summer to highlight what the groups involved are calling America’s “longstanding frustrations with unaffordable, inequitable healthcare in national and local conversations that demand a healthcare system that puts people over profits.” More than $5 million will be spent on the campaign, those involved said.
Just last week, the 2026 Milliman Medical Index report showed the annual cost of insuring a family of four eclipsed $35,000, rising 7.2% between 2025 and 2026. Of that, Milliman estimates the family’s “expected employee contribution plus out-of-pocket costs” is 58% of the total, or about $15,000. Meanwhile, rising healthcare costs are expected to figure prominently during this year’s midterm Congressional and state elections.
“When people in America are forced to choose between buying groceries or seeing their doctor, it’s a problem that requires action,” Avenel Joseph, vice president for policy at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said in a statement announcing the campaign. “The time to demand action is now. All of us who are frustrated by the status quo must make our voices heard. It’s an obligation we share to elevate the crisis of high-cost healthcare in America today.”
The campaign’s website www.OneNationOvercharged.org will serve as a hub for people to not only sign up to join the movement but to “speak up by submitting a user-generated video, and show up by joining or planning an event in their community,” RWJF said in a statement. “The movement will leverage a multi-channel advertising campaign to amplify messages and share user-generated videos, research, and events planned throughout the summer.”
Others involved in the effort include the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Black Voters Matter, Black Women’s Health Imperative, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Community Catalyst, Families USA, NAACP, National Immigration Law Center, National Urban League, New Disabled South, and UnidosUS.
In addition, an array of celebrities, actors and community activists such as Noah Wyle, Yvette Nicole Brown, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Steven Weber, and Dr. Mike Varshavski, a popular family physician online, “will lend their voices and platforms to speak out. Civic leaders, community organizers, content creators, artists, clergy, and others will ensure a visible presence in places where people live, work, play, and pray,” RWJF and groups involves said Wednesday.
“Americans of every race, ethnicity, economic status, community, and political party agree that our healthcare system charges too much and doesn’t deliver the health outcomes or economic security we should expect,” said Anthony Wright, executive director of Families USA, the longtime healthcare consumer advocacy organization. “The people are ahead of the politicians on the problem of healthcare prices, and this campaign will engage Americans to stand up and speak out for solutions.”
