Millennials want it quick and affordable
Generation has the leverage to improve customer service
Daniel Martinez surveys the floor of a Reno restaurant on a Friday evening, his nicely pressed suit evoking the kind of sharpdressed man that rockers ZZ Top sing about.
Surrounded by multicolored lights and the familiar din of slot machines, Martinez quickly handles multiple queries about kitchen operations and hotel room service without skipping a beat. As an assistant manager, efficiency and customer satisfaction are high on the 26year-old’s list of job priorities.
Ask Martinez what would happen if a restaurant were run like the United States’ health care system, however, and the Millennial gives a not-so-positive diagnosis. “Oh God, it would fall apart,” Martinez said. “It would be like, ‘You want pasta? Too bad, I don’t care what food you want, all I care about is making you not hungry.’ ”
It’s a jaded assessment born from Martinez’s own interactions with a system he considers outdated, inefficient and illequipped to handle the needs of its customers. Martinez’s experience includes being told he could not see a dermatologist in Reno but could meet with one in a month about 30 miles away in Carson City.
For someone used to quickly ordering products and services from the convenience of his smartphone or tablet and having them on his doorstep the next day, Martinez says the archaic structure behind the health care system just doesn’t cut it. This is especially true for Millennials weaned on the Internet age, he added.
“We’re the instant-gratification generation,” Martinez said. “I don’t want to wait two months for a delivery on a pair of shoes.”
With a presidential election fast approaching, health care is an issue that’s getting plenty of traction on both sides of the political aisle.
MORE DEMANDING
Amid all the debate, however, one group could prove to be the wild card. As more Millennials interact with the health care system, the industry will find itself facing a more sophisticated and demanding group that won’t stand for its inefficiencies with the same begrudging acceptance of previous generations, said Kathy Hempstead, director of insurance coverage for the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation.
“Older people have sort of gotten used to interacting with health care providers in certain ways, even though the rest of the service sector has made all these improvements in customer service while the health care industry hasn’t,” Hempstead said. “I think Millennials are going to give the health care industry more impetus to really improve the customer service part of what they do.”
Bayo Curry-Winchell has an inside track on what Millennials think about health care. In addition to having a background in family medicine, the Saint Mary’s Urgent Care administrator is a Millennial herself. “My generation is all about convenience and preventive health,” Curry-Winchell said. “We don’t want to see the doctor in person, which is one reason why we want to stay healthy.”
DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIPS
Although older generations such as Baby Boomers value cultivating relationships with their family doctor, for example, Millennials are proving to be a different lot. “If you look at the demands of Millennials on our society as consumers, they are a group that uses services such as Amazon and the Internet who aren’t really used to person-to-person service per se,” said Ron Rowes, chief medical officer of Prominence Health Plan.
It’s a behavior that’s starting to make its mark on the health care field and is expected to lead to even bigger changes as Millennials get older. At the top of the list is how health care is provided.
Daniel Spogen, who chairs the University of Nevada Department of Family Medicine, is already seeing a difference in doctors’ relationships with patients. Older generations, for example, develop a personal relationship with their doctor, whom they expect to be there for them 24/7 in case of an emergency. “My older patients will say, ‘Dr. Spogen is my doctor,’” Spogen said. “I don’t get that same kind of ownership as much with my younger patients.” Part of the reason is that Millennials are mostly healthy so they don’t need to see their doctors as frequently. The most pressing health issues for Millennials usually involve car accidents, injuries and pregnancy, not chronic illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes, according to Rowes.
Millennials aren’t as tied to the idea that they must have one specific doctor be their physician. For standard checkups and consultations, some don’t even feel the need to see a doctor at all. Instead, many Millennials are content with seeing a nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant.
“Part of it is that they’re healthier but it’s also how they consume goods and services in general,” said John Packham, director of health policy research at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. “It’s kind of consistent with them being the generation that doesn’t go to the malls but have Amazon Prime.”
FUELING RISE IN CLINICS The behavior is helping fuel the rise of quick-service retail clinics from CVS, Walmart and Walgreens that are staffed by nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants.
It is also cited as another factor in increased urgent-care center usage, although doctor shortages and population play a key role in that as well.
Between 2006 and 2014, the number of retail clinics in the United States grew by nearly 900% from 200 to 1,800, according to the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation. By 2012, retail clinic visits also grew sevenfold to 10.5 million, which represents 2% of all primary care encounters in the country.
Although such services are used by consumers of all ages, Millennials are posting the highest usage rate. A PNC Healthcare survey found that 34% of people ages 18 to 34 prefer retail clinics — about double the rate of 17% for Baby Boomers and 15% for older seniors.
Tucked in the basement of a historic building that once served as downtown Reno’s main post office is one Millennial’s labor of love that’s aptly called Sugar Love. Just before her candy store’s grand opening, 34-year-old owner Krysta Bea Jackson was brought down by something decidedly unsweet — a nasty cold that set back her store opening preparation a bit.
It also reminded her of one of her biggest concerns as a small business owner: health care. “Luckily, I’ve also been working at (the University of Nevada-Reno) for the last three years but I graduate in May, which is when my contract with them ends,” Jackson said. “I’m actually a little bit nervous about looking at health insurance.” PRICE CONSCIOUS
As someone who also does taxes on the side, Jackson has looked up insurance rates under the Affordable Care Act. What she learned is that it may not necessarily be affordable for her, but she also does not want to be without health insurance.
Although Millennials typically don’t go to the doctor as often as older populations, Jackson’s own history combined with the standard health concerns that come with being a woman make health coverage important for her. She also exhibits one common trait shared by Millennials about health care.
“Maybe it’s because I’m selfemployed and have to pay everything out of my own pocket, but I’m extremely conscious of price,” Jackson said.
Although 8% of the U.S. general population asks for a discount on medical care, that number jumps to 19% for Millennials ages 25 to 34, according to a 2015 report by global auditing and consulting firm PwC.
Millennials also topped a 2012 Deloitte survey as the generation that is most cost-conscious.
It’s the group that’s most willing to switch doctors, use retail clinics and travel farther in order to save money on health care.
The question now is whether Millennials have the clout to force the kind of change that is being placed on the generation’s shoulders.
After decades of rising health care costs and worsening customer service with seemingly no improvement, it’s understandable to look at the influence ascribed to Millennials as more pie-in-thesky proclamations.
As Millennials take over the workforce, however, they gain something that any industry values most: spending power.
In 2014, Millennials accounted for a quarter of the U.S. population, according to a report by market research firm Mintel. By 2020, the generation as a whole is expected to spend $1.4 trillion each year, the report said.
It’s the kind of financial clout that’s already making its mark on the health care sector as well. Once it’s clear that there is money to be made, even the slowest-moving industry will be sure to capitalize, according to Packham. Ultimately, the monetization of health care just might be what makes it more user-friendly.
“Millennials’ expectations of health care are different than my generation and that will affect change,” Packham said.
“The system might be a bit slower to respond, but I do think that the medical practices and health care providers that manage to resolve this will have a competitive edge,” he said.