How to Money · Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Dr. Jordan Grumet recounts the case of Olympian Mary Lou Retton, who faced a $500,000 medical bill after a severe illness despite being a public figure. Retton, who lacked insurance due to prior health issues and a divorce, had to resort to a GoFundMe campaign, illustrating how even seemingly successful individuals can be financially devastated by healthcare costs in the US.
“She ends up staying for months in the intensive care unit. eventually gets out, and guess what? She has a $ 500, 000 healthcare bill, and Mary Lou Retton didn't have insurance.”
“Mary Lou Retton, whose net worth at the time was somewhere around $ 2 million. Well, why did Mary Lou Retton not have insurance? Well, first of all, being an Olympian, she had tons of fractures and ended up getting tons and tons of surgery. So first and foremost, it was just incredibly hard to insure her. Then she got divorced and lost her insurance, then was having trouble finding new insurance, and she never ended up getting it.”
“And so what happened? Her daughters had to do a GoFundMe. We had to GoFundMe an American hero worth $ 2 million because she couldn't get health care in the United States. It was untenable.”