HLTH21: Traditional Healthcare is Missing Younger Consumers. How can Providers Win them Back?

It’s little secret that younger generations—millennials and Gen Z—aren’t seeking or receiving healthcare the same way as their predecessors.

First and foremost, the younger demographic is less likely to have a dedicated primary care physician than previous generations of patients—a trend that can at least be somewhat explained by broader supply and payment challenges.

“We’re probably about 50,000 primary care docs short today, but it’s also about cost with the advent of the high-deductible health plans—a phenomenon I don’t think works well by and large for the U.S. health system,” Patrick Carroll, M.D., chief medical officer at Hims & Hers and a former primary care practitioner, said this week at the HLTH 2021 conference while speaking on a panel about healthcare offerings for younger patients.