Although beneficiaries of all cohorts have expressed unique qualms concerning the United States healthcare system, millennials lead the charge against this massive industry, accusing pharmaceutical executives and government officials who stimulate the system of neglect and predatory behavior. As insurance premiums and medication prices skyrocket, many find it nearly impossible to find affordable, adequate coverage.

With financially devastating medical bills filling American’s mailboxes, baby boomers and millennials alike have been left scrounging for spare change, as younger generations opt-out of healthcare altogether to avoid crushing medical debt or insufficient care.

Inadequate care has left millennials with debilitating debt and various health complications ranging from daily, chronic illnesses to long-term untreated injuries. Many chronic ailments like diabetes, for example, often require a wide range of expensive equipment, medications, and doctors’ visits to ensure optimal health.

However, because millennials have knocked medical care off their shortlist of willing-to-pay-for services, items like blood sugar calculators and insulin are often rationed to avoid unnecessary, life-altering fees.

As insulin prices surge, many argue that the United States healthcare system preys on the chronically ill for the sake of profits. In response, millennials have started to push back and demand a reformed healthcare system that benefits all.

Millennials have higher expectations for their healthcare system

Fed up with the United States government’s response to Covid-19 along with their consistently underwhelming healthcare initiatives, millennials are spitting harsh criticisms at U.S. healthcare officials, demanding radical reform and equal access. Long Instacare wait times, booked-out specialists, and inaccurate or unclear information results in hoards of sick and exasperated patients. In response, these 25 to 35-year-olds are self-advocating and demanding faster, less expensive, more streamlined care from trustworthy physicians.

A demand for transparency

One of the many crimes millennials have accused U.S. healthcare officials of committing is dishonest, predatory acts against citizens seeking care. To illuminate disparities and eliminate exploitation, young people have consulted with healthcare fraud attorneys and demanded total transparency from government officials, healthcare professionals, and pharmaceutical executives.

By insisting that hospitals provide an itemized list of fees, millennials are avoiding extensive hidden fees, demanding honesty, and implementing foundational changes in the healthcare sector. Along with their requests for detailed charges, 20-somethings nationwide have committed their limited free time to research in an investigation of the healthcare sector’s shortcomings. In between study sessions, some millennials are refusing treatment altogether.

Technical advancements are necessary

Guaranteeing citizens access to streamlined, accessible healthcare comes with a truckload of complications and requirements, necessitating the use of telemedicine and other innovative solutions from healthcare software companies. Treatment and care in the Covid-19 era shifted medicine from in-person to over-the-phone, and millennials see no reason to dismantle telecommunication post-pandemic.

In light of their early exposure to smartphones, long-distance communication has quickly become the norm for the next generation of working professionals. As a result, thousands of millennials have demanded more functional, mobile medical web pages, easy-to-understand online appointment scheduling systems, and access to secure, electronic medical records that guarantee widely-available medical services.

Healthcare for some is not enough

The debate between universal and single-payer healthcare has been at the forefront of American politics for years. To no one’s surprise, the pandemic-induced economic and medical collapse only added fuel to the fire.

Although equal access to healthcare is not yet a reality in the United States, millennials—along with radicalized Gen Zers and an increasing number of baby boomers—are fighting for a universal approach to healthcare services.

Millennials are—literally and metaphorically—sick and tired of sub-par, ultra-expensive medical care. As positive cases and medical debts rise, citizens continue to fall and fight back, hoping for future change and more accessible care.