Millennials have Amazon expectations for on-line access, fast service, customer ratings, and competitive prices. They expect the same level of service from healthcare organizations. They get upset when healthcare organizations do not live up to their expectations.
My son, Tyler, became very upset when he received a bill for hospital emergency services. He called me saying, “Dad, I’m not going to pay it”. So, I asked him why he had to go to the hospital ER. Tyler told me that he got a bad gash in his forearm. After he stopped the bleeding, he went next door to ask a retired army surgeon if he would sew him up. The neighbor told him it was bad and he needed to go to the hospital ER.
When Tyler arrived at the ER, his first question was, “How much will this cost?” But ER staff couldn’t tell him. He couldn’t believe that his bill for 7 stitches would be several thousand dollars. During our call, I suggested he contact his insurance plan to help negotiate a discount. Tyler is a millennial with a high-deductible insurance plan. So, he was highly motivated to pay less on his bill.
A couple weeks later, Tyler called to tell me that he had negotiated a discount with hospital billing staff. He agreed to an 80% discount and thought the 20% balance due was reasonable. This showed me that healthcare services for millennials will not be “business as usual”.
Millennials are the Sandwich Generation, because they are sandwiched between their aging parents and their children. Millennial parents must balance the challenges of caring for their parents, doing their jobs, and raising their families. This can be very stressful, particularly if they both have full-time jobs. It’s not surprising that they want health services to be convenient and affordable.
Health care organizations are innovating to meet millennials’ Amazon expectations. More services will be provided in homes and on smart phones, rather than in hospitals and clinics (Cornell Enterprise, Summer 2017, See page 34). Nearly half of millennials do not have a primary care provider. They want to go online for answers to health questions or for virtual visits.
$28,000 is the total annual cost of healthcare for a family of four, based on the Milliman Medical Index for 2019. Over the past decade, this medical index has increased more than 3 times faster than overall inflation. For decades, companies have given their employees wage increases that were slightly higher than inflation. As a result, the average American wage adjusted for inflation is now at the 1974 level. (Pew Research Center).
Why will millennials transform healthcare? Quite simply, they have to. Let’s work together in innovating to improve access to more affordable health services. Let’s do it for our children and our grandchildren.