2025 is shaping up to be a big year for healthcare. The industry faces a perfect storm of rising costs and rapid technological advancements, forcing providers, health systems, and patients to adapt to rapid changes. As financial sustainability and patient-centered care take center stage, healthcare leaders must innovate to meet these pressing challenges. In the year ahead, I anticipate five key trends that will shape the future of healthcare.
1. Patient financing becomes the new standard The economic realities of healthcare are forcing patients and providers to rethink financial strategies. The shift is driven by growing financial strain on patients. For example, in 2024, 18% of adults reported medical bills they could not pay, and 22% reported having trouble paying for prescription drugs. Medicaid disenrollments following the rollback of pandemic protections have further exacerbated the issue, leaving millions uninsured or underinsured.
With rising medical costs and an increase in out-of-pocket expenses even with employer-sponsored health insurance, traditional payment plans offered by providers are no longer sufficient to address patients' financial needs. The plans are often a simple twelve-month payment structure or are a debt sale to a third party, often lacking consumer protections. These plans are being replaced by a consumer-first-styled patient financing programs that provide structured, flexible payment options and are fully compliant with federal consumer financing laws and regulations.
In 2025, patient financing programs will emerge as the preferred solution for health systems looking to address these challenges. These programs, which involve loans or credit through third-party institutions, offer clear terms and regulatory protections that inspire trust among patients while ensuring reliable cash flow for providers. Think financing for home appliances, furnishings, or other purchases similar to an out-of-pocket responsibility of up to $10,000.
Flexible repayment options and transparency improve patient satisfaction and adherence to payment plans. In addition to patient financing, providers will ramp up their initiatives to help patients gain insurance coverage for eligible patients to enroll in ACA plans – especially for patients facing high-cost therapies to preserve life or maintain health. Providers will also seek out philanthropic foundations and drug assistance programs as part of their patient support programs to enable care to continue. The complexity of managing all of these initiatives will drive new partner relationships with technology solutions to manage the complexity.
