Pay the electric bill or fill a prescription?
Buy groceries or schedule the surgery?
Take care of your kids or take care of yourself?
These aren’t edge cases. They’re everyday tradeoffs for millions of Americans.
A recent Gallup report found that one in three U.S. adults—more than 80 million people—are cutting back on basic living expenses to afford healthcare.
That’s not just a public health issue. It’s a strategic imperative for healthcare organizations.
When affordability becomes a barrier patients don’t just delay care, they disappear from the system entirely. And in an environment where reimbursement rates remain flat, health systems can’t afford to lose patients to financial friction.
So what can providers actually do?
1. Payment is Part of the Care Experience
It doesn’t matter how medically necessary or life changing a treatment may be. If a patient can’t make the math work, that treatment isn’t happening.
Forward-thinking health systems are reframing payment as an extension of care delivery by:
- Offering transparent, upfront cost estimates
- Creating flexible, predictable payment plans
- Introducing low- or no-interest financing options
These are more than financial tools, they’re paths to access. When patients understand what they’ll owe and how they can pay, they’re far more likely to move forward with care.
2. Insurance Navigation is a Core Capability, not a Courtesy
Insurance complexity is a significant driver of patient drop-off.
Patients don’t abandon care because they don’t need it. They delay or abandon care because they don’t understand what’s covered, what it will cost or how to proceed.
Health systems that invest in dedicated insurance navigation support can:
- Help patients maximize existing coverage
- Reduce administrative burden and confusion
- Prevent care delays tied to authorization or eligibility issues
Just as importantly, these services signal something deeper: we’re on your side. That builds trust and trust builds retention.
3. Communicate Early, Often and Transparently
These services are only as valuable and successful as they are known and used. Affordability support may already exist, but patients don’t know about it until it’s too late.
If your organization offers financial assistance, payment plans, or navigation services, those resources should be:
- Prominently featured across digital and in-person touchpoints
- Integrated into pre-visit communications and scheduling workflows
- Reinforced through paid, owned, and earned channels
And if those services don’t exist yet? That’s your signal to act.
Because by the time you see declining patient volume or rising collections, the damage is already underway.
The Bottom Line
The healthcare affordability crisis is here. And it’s shaping patient behavior in real time.
Organizations that will lead through it aren’t just those delivering excellent clinical care. They’re the ones removing financial barriers, simplifying complexity and communicating with clarity.
In a market defined by difficult tradeoffs, brands must focus on getting patients the care they need without requiring them to sacrifice everything else.