Report: Three-Quarters Of Younger Consumers Want Healthcare Payment Plans

Today’s healthcare providers are finding that America’s millennials — the nation’s first digital natives who comprise the majority of its workforce and new parents — want simple, digital options that help them pay for, manage and track healthcare costs.

PYMNTS’ research finds that millennials are also more willing than older generations to switch providers to find the right mix of care and customer experience options, as well as being likelier to avoid regular engagement with a primary care physician.

Recent healthcare industry insights find that millennial consumers’ health begins to decline at age 27. Forty-four percent of older millennials are already struggling with chronic ailments, meaning medical care services must discover the digital healthcare management options that matter most to this generation and learn how to leverage them to drive millennial engagement.

In Generation HealthTech: How Digital Tools Amplify Millennial Patient Loyalty, a PYMNTS and Rectangle Health collaboration, we present findings from a survey of 2,263 healthcare consumers that reveal how convenience and frictionless payment options drive millennial healthcare engagement. The Playbook illustrates that digital natives, accustomed to the “click-to-pay” ease of eCommerce, are attracted to options that limit friction when paying for services that are not covered by insurance. PYMNTS’ research finds that 56 percent of healthcare consumers are “very” or “extremely” interested in using payment plans to cover healthcare costs, but bridge millennials show an exceptional interest at 73 percent.

PYMNTS’ research also shows that millennials value transparency in knowing how and when they will be billed, with 60 percent interested in receiving digital reminders about upcoming payments. These kinds of payment reminders are not only beneficial for millennial customers, either. Helping patients stay on top of their bills and providing affordable payment plans could help healthcare services address the industry’s $140 billion unpaid medical debt problem.

Read more: With $140B In Medical Debt, Doctors Saying ‘I’ll Bill You’ Doesn’t Cut It Anymore

PYMNTS’ research also finds that millennials, like many other patients, have positive views of in-person healthcare services when payment and communications friction is kept to a minimum. Healthcare providers should also focus on improving their relationship with their existing patients by making the in-person visits that millennial consumers value better customer experiences.

As healthcare providers seek to address millennials’ changing medical needs as they age, it is essential that they learn how to promote patient loyalty and make healthcare easier to access.

These findings represent a small fraction of the insights PYMNTS has uncovered. To learn more, download the Playbook.