The Growing Influence of Younger Generations

Millennials and members of Generation Z are more dissatisfied than their older counterparts with some aspects of traditional health care. Here’s how these younger adults and their expectations are shaping the current and future managed care landscape.

This year, millennials are expected to surpass baby boomers as the nation’s largest living adult generation, according to the Pew Research Center, which means younger adults increasingly hold sway over the future of health care models. As they age and their health care needs continue to grow, their preferences and expectations could help redefine managed care as we know it.

Findings from an Accenture 2019 Digital Health Consumer Survey reveal that millennial and Generation Z consumers are the least likely to have a primary care physician. They are also less satisfied with some elements of traditional health care such as transparency, responsiveness, and treatment effectiveness. The amount of Gen Zers (32%) and millennials (12%) who indicated they are either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the effectiveness of treatment, differs significantly from the mere 4% of baby boomers who expressed the same sort of discontent with care received via traditional doctors’ offices, clinics, and hospitals.

These higher levels of dissatisfaction may help explain, at least in part, why younger consumers are more inclined to turn to alternative therapies such as acupuncture, massage therapy, herbal medicine, and chiropractors. “If a health plan wants to attract these younger patients, they would be wise to include these modalities in their plan,” Kip Webb, MD, MPH, managing director and chief clinical innovation officer at Accenture, told First Report Managed Care.

Younger generations will not just determine the future of managed care, however. Some say they are already making a major impact on the current delivery of benefits, including benefits geared toward older adults.

SERVICES IN THE DIGITAL AGE

“Medicare has recently just begun incorporating telemedicine into its schedule of covered benefits, and the offering of telemedicine inside of all types of health plans has been precipitated by millennials who are very interested
in instant care,” explained Danielle K. Roberts, cofounder of Boomer Benefits, an agency focused on helping seniors navigate Medicare. “We will see this reduce wait times because there will be considerably fewer people actually showing up for appointments in person at the doctor’s office.”

Millennials are also demanding greater levels of transparency. “They don’t accept the status quo, where you zip your lips and hope for the best when the doctor’s invoice arrives in your mailbox.” Ms Roberts added that millennials  are more likely to demand an up-front estimate than baby boomers and generation x, likely because they opt for consumer-driven, health savings account compatible plans with higher deductibles. In addition, she believes this generation is the driving force behind the technical innovation that is being incorporated into health care. 

“As younger generations begin to make their own health care decisions, we’re seeing an increase in younger consumers utilizing services like telehealth and the use of patient portals, which provide instant digital access to their medical records and test results,” pointed out Jennifer Atkins, MBA, vice president of network solutions at Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. 

However, there are distinctions to be drawn between these younger generations. Generation Z patients differ even from millennials in the amount of technology they have been exposed to from an early age. As a result, they tend to be better equipped than the generations ahead of them to realize the opportunities and limitations of technology, explained Timothy Hoff, PhD, professor of management, health care systems, and health policy at Northeastern University.

BRANDING HEALTH CARE

Quick access and convenience will be important to deliver upon. It will be just as essential, Dr Hoff believes, to tailor services and products in ways that make these patients feel good about the organizations with whom they are doing business and feel a connection to those who are providing their health care services. In a time of fitness and health Instagram influencers, millennials and Gen Zers focus heavily on the content they consume and where to get the most for their dollars. Gen Zers will spend wisely in the health care marketplace and will not automatically turn to higher-cost options like in-person care if they can be convinced that other lower-cost alternatives are of similar quality. They are also less likely to blindly follow a brand name without first-hand evidence that they are receiving added value. 

“Generation Z patients are interested in health as a total lifestyle pursuit, and not simply a disconnected set of products or services meant to address single health care situations in their lives,” Dr Hoff added. “Their value proposition will involve wanting to pursue health in multiple aspects of their daily lives. This means they will be interested in total health care solutions that involve social, emotional, and physical components of care delivery.”