One-Third of Patients Delay Healthcare Due to Cost, New Weave Survey Reveals

Data highlights the critical need for healthcare providers to offer flexible payment solutions to ensure continued care

LEHI, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Weave (NYSE: WEAV), a leading all-in-one experience platform for small- and medium-sized healthcare practices, today released new research revealing that rising costs combined with a lack of flexible payment options led to delayed healthcare appointments in 2023.

Informed by a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers commissioned by Weave and conducted by Dynata, the new research examines how consumers are impacted by economic factors and what their new expectations are for healthcare expenses.

Consumers are tightening their belts in response to rising prices and economic volatility, and healthcare is no exception. Younger generations are feeling this strain more acutely. Specifically, 37% of Gen Z and 34% of Millennial respondents delayed going to a primary care physician in 2023. Specialty healthcare providers saw a higher level of delayed care with 55% of Gen Z and 44% of Millennials delaying dental visits in 2023.

Consumers have grown accustomed to flexible payment solutions such as payment plans and buy now pay later (BNPL) in sectors like retail, yet these conveniences have been slow to translate over to the healthcare industry. More than half (51%) of respondents said their healthcare providers do not offer any flexible payment options including BNPL, payment plans, or third-party lending. The scarcity of payment alternatives is having a detrimental impact on patient retention as almost half of consumers (47%) said they’d be less likely to delay treatment if their healthcare provider offered BNPL options. To get patients back to regular and necessary appointments, healthcare providers must offer flexible payment solutions or risk losing out to providers that do.

“It’s time healthcare providers adopt a patient-centered approach to payments to ensure patients can receive and afford the care they desperately need,” said Brett White, CEO of Weave. “Patients now expect to have multiple options when it comes to every type of purchase—including healthcare—and the onus is now on providers to integrate flexible payment methods to keep patients engaged. Providers that do so will attract and retain patients at a higher rate than those who don’t.”

Additional significant findings from Weave’s study include:

More than 3 in 5 consumers (65%) would be more likely to choose one provider over another if they offered more flexible payment options. This figure is even higher among Gen Z (80%) and Millennials (76%).
Only 12% of patients said their healthcare providers offer BNPL.
Installment agreements were the most commonly offered type of flexible payment option, with more than 1 in 5 consumers (21%) saying their healthcare provider offers them.
Almost 1 in 4 (24%) consumers have used BNPL options for treatment in the past. This skyrockets among younger generations, as almost half (47%) of Gen Z and 1 in 3 Millennials (34%) have leveraged BNPL for healthcare expenses.
Nearly half of Millennials (46%) and Gen Z (44%) are cutting back on aesthetic treatments due to financial strain.

Consumers ranked food and housing as their top financial priorities, with 46% claiming food as the top priority and 39% claiming housing as the top priority. As inflationary and economic pressures continue to negatively impact consumers' ability to afford the cost of living, healthcare is at risk of being deprioritized against more urgent needs. Healthcare providers looking to grow their practice and retain patients must take steps now to adapt to changing patient expectations and demands.

To learn more about Weave, visit https://www.getweave.com.

About Weave

Weave is the all-in-one experience platform for small- and medium-sized healthcare businesses. From the first phone call to the final invoice and every touchpoint in between, Weave connects the entire customer journey. Weave’s software solutions transform how local healthcare providers attract, communicate with and engage patients to grow their practice. In the past year, Weave has been named a G2 leader in Patient Relationship Management, Patient Engagement, Optometry, and Dental Practice Management software. To learn more, visit getweave.com/newsroom.