Millennial Healthcare: Gain And Retain Younger Workers With Meaningful And Personalized Health Benefits

Given this growing majority, HR decision-makers are searching for new ways to attract and retain younger top talent. Ensuring affordable, whole-person health benefits is one clear approach to fulfilling millennial healthcare wish lists.

Millennials and their younger co-workers want flexible care choices that support whole-person wellness. They want healthcare to be more personalized and convenient and have upfront, transparent pricing. Add to that their comfort with technology, and it's no shock that virtual care and telehealth beat out more traditional health benefits among millennials. According to the Medical Group Management Association, 92% of millennial patients want two-way electronic communication with their doctors and other healthcare professionals.

There's no waiting out this trend, either. Millennial healthcare will evolve into Gen Z healthcare. So, how can you shift your health benefits strategy to better suit the priorities of 20- and 30-somethings and those who will follow? Consider these opportunities to reimagine healthcare.

Enhancing Real-Time Digital Connections For Millennial And Gen Z Employees

Younger workers have all but thrown the typical structure of healthcare out the window — and that starts with their increased interest in digitally accessible care. Who can blame them? Options such as online patient portals and telehealth visits enable real-time connections to doctors and other healthcare professionals with less wait time and more convenience.

Another upside is that telehealth offers greater (and more private) access to mental healthcare. Many people with depression aren't seeking the consistent help they need, and virtual care is uniquely equipped to change that.

Meet your employees where they are on their unique health journey with tech-driven solutions. Establish more digitized options for healthcare in your benefits package. Your workers want an online health network that prioritizes virtual primary care to help them easily access a personal and relevant experience while saving time and money. They also want an integrated, intuitive, and streamlined experience; selecting a system that has a user-friendly, interactive platform means earlier, more, and continued engagement across all stages of health.

Well-Rounded Wellness For All Employees

Just because millennials access care differently doesn't mean they ignore their personal health or reject preventive measures. They're actually more likely to engage in healthy eating and stay physically fit, whether through yoga classes or gym memberships. They appreciate health coaches and opportunities to enhance wellbeing. In short, their approach to wellness is more holistic than that of earlier generations. Benefit offerings that involve a range of approaches — from gym discounts and healthy snacks to financial advising and employee assistance programs — could motivate younger employees to join and stay with the company.

Reimagining Family Benefits For A New Age

Millennials tend to delay parenthood into their 30s and 40s. It presents a major generational difference that employers keen on keeping their employees should understand: Millennials are seeking different types of family planning benefits than baby boomers or even Gen Xers did.

Consider adding health benefits that reflect this trend and support delayed parenthood, such as coverage for fertility treatments, surrogates, and maternity care for special health needs linked with having a baby at a more advanced maternal age. Benefits like these enhance an employee's peace of mind.

Personalization Always Trumps Generalization

Millennials won't be the last generation to dramatically change healthcare, and staying ahead of the curve will mean continuing to listen to what your up-and-coming employees need. Far from just being a strategy for today, making benefits more attractive for younger employees is an investment in the future.

Broadly, staying in touch with innovative, empathetic health benefits is something that will appeal to employees of all ages. "Millennial healthcare" might just as well be considered "evolving healthcare." Consider that some people are just starting families in their late 30s while others already have teenagers by then. You can't assume what your employees want based on the year of their birth.

One thing is sure to gain the approval of every millennial and Gen Zer — and probably most of your other employees: meaningful solutions that connect them to the right care at the right time, in simpler, more effective, and more affordable ways. You can provide employees with healthcare that uses real-time connections, integrated solutions, and a personalized, simplified experience. You are poised to help rethink and reinvent every moment of health, and you can do that with a whole-person approach that proactively cares for employees' wellness needs, whatever they may be.

The Virtual Primary Care experience is offered through an arrangement with Hydrogen Health.