Resilience remains, but the U.S. consumer is operating “under pressure,” with less margin for error. Part one of the Consumerism in Healthcare series provides a current macroeconomic backdrop and explores impacts of and on the US consumer. Parts two and three will take these analyses further, accounting for changing behaviors in evaluation and consumption of healthcare services. These articles will study current trends in consumerism, specific to U.S. healthcare, as well as how providers, payors and policymakers have driven and responded to these changes.

Parte I: Resumen ejecutivo

  • Consumer spending remains supported, but the backdrop is increasingly “K-shaped” – i.e., stronger for higher-income consumers and asset owners, who realize compounding benefits from saving in a rising stock market; and more constrained for lower-income cohorts, who share less in that generation of wealth.
  • The labor market is cooling, yet wage growth remains positive even on an inflation-adjusted basis, which is helping to sustain aggregate spending.
  • Inflation remains above the Federal Reserve (Fed)’s 2% target; however, retail sales have yet to moderate in the data, but price-level fatigue continues to weigh on sentiment.
  • Household finances are stable at the aggregate level, but credit usage and delinquency trends underscore pockets of stress.
  • Annual healthcare benefit costs have continued to rise too, estimated at an additional 8.5% for group plans through 2026, and patients and employers are hunting for ways to reduce these expenses.
  • Macro-economic factors impacting the US consumer will drive behaviors that change the healthcare industry in a variety of ways.

Para un análisis a fondo
Consumerism in Healthcare Series - Part 1