2025 US health care outlook

Table of Contents

Addressing health care affordability for consumers

Health care executives identified “health care affordability for consumers” as a key trend likely to shape their 2025 organizational strategies. Since 2020, out-of-pocket costs have consistently outpaced the overall growth in health care spending, creating a potentially unsustainable situation.⁴ According to Deloitte’s actuarial analysis, women spend 20% more on out-of-pocket costs—based on their covered benefits—than men. Even after excluding maternal health expenses, employed women still spend 18% more than men on health care.⁵

This financial burden may compel some consumers to skip or delay essential care. The Deloitte 2024 Health Care Consumer Survey found that both men and women avoid care due to costs,⁶ women being 31% more likely to do so. Avoiding or delaying routine care can lead to the deterioration of health conditions, the exacerbation of chronic illnesses, and missed opportunities for early disease diagnosis, ultimately resulting in more severe health issues and higher treatment costs, especially for underserved populations.⁷

Health system and health plan executives should consider these strategies to help address consumer affordability:

Develop inclusive products and services

Health plans should examine their existing plan designs to ensure they meet the needs of all members equitably. Similarly, health systems should evaluate their service offerings by location to ensure they cater to the needs of all communities. Coverage and services should be affordable and accessible, regardless of ethnicity, gender, geography, or race. Additionally, offering health coverage products and care delivery services tailored to individual needs can help reduce costs (premiums and out-of-pocket expenses) for some. By implementing these strategies, health system and health plan executives can better address the affordability challenges faced by consumers. This, in turn, is likely to improve access to essential health care services and promote overall health and well-being.

Expand services and hours for alternative sites of care and virtual health

Health care services that are accessed digitally at home and outside the traditional nine-to-five clinic hours are becoming increasingly important to consumers as they prioritize convenience.⁸ To meet this demand, health systems should consider investing in alternative sites of care, extending clinic hours to include evenings and weekends, and offering virtual and digital health options. These measures can help reach a broader consumer base while potentially lowering out-of-pocket costs and indirect costs such as transportation and time away from work.

Our 2024 US Health Care Consumer Survey, found that 64% of consumers consider virtual visits more convenient, which is the primary reason they prefer virtual care over in-person visits. To help ensure broad adoption, health systems should evaluate the needs of the populations they serve. This includes addressing barriers such as lack of broadband access, unfamiliarity with technology, and the absence of private spaces for conducting virtual visits.

Invest in consumer-facing digital technologies

A growing percentage of consumers are using connected monitoring devices and digital tools for their health care—43% in 2024 compared to 34% in 2022.⁹ These technologies can enhance consumer experiences, aligning with the highly personalized experiences they’re accustomed to in industries like banking, retail, and entertainment. Digital monitoring tools, for example, can provide consumers with trending data that supports their health concerns, thereby giving them more agency during patient-clinician interactions. This can provide consumers with greater control and confidence, especially in areas like maternal health, where timely and informed interactions are crucial for preventing adverse outcomes.

Work more closely with employers

Employer-sponsored health insurance plans cover about 154 million people in the United States.¹⁰ Employers can play a pivotal role in promoting healthier lifestyles, as indicated by Deloitte’s actuarial modeling on aging. Health plans are well-positioned to help employers improve the health of their workforce through wellness programs, preventive care services, and customized coverage options. Health systems should also look for opportunities to collaborate with local employers to help improve workforce health. Health systems could design and implement onsite workplace prevention and screening clinics, directly contract with employers for the health system to deliver certain health care services to their workforce like joint surgery, and provide education and resources to improve workforce well-being. These strategies could help reduce the overall cost of patient care for employers and their workforce by decreasing the need for medical interventions.

Enhance operational efficiencies

Both health systems and health plans are focusing on strategies to reduce operational costs. More than half of the surveyed health care executives (53%) cited improving efficiencies and enhancing productivity as priorities for the coming year. This could include optimizing operating models to outsource or offshore capabilities that are not core to the business. It could also include using staffing models that upskill clinicians to the top of their license, investing in automation technologies and gen AI for efficiencies, and creating centralized command centers to boost efficiencies. Additionally, health care organizations might have opportunities to receive cash refunds, tax credits, or incentives through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and from state and local jurisdictions related to decarbonization efforts.¹¹ These measures could help strengthen operations and reduce overall costs.