The healthcare cost crisis hits everyone, but especially Gen Z, making even modest steps like promoting lower-cost products and financial assistance an opportunity for healthcare players to improve their standing with strained patients.

Reduced employer coverage of weight loss drugs could push patients to cash-pay options or off treatment, increasing pressure on pharma companies to lower prices.

Healthcare membership buyers tend to skew younger, but a new GoodRx offering could tap a broader market of consumers losing coverage while still needing routine care.

Like other big health insurers, CVS is exiting unprofitable markets while trimming members—a playbook to earn Wall Street approval as patients scramble for new coverage.

Health benefits leaders often fail to inform workers about Rx savings options because opaque PBM contracts create confusion, driving the rise of more transparent, direct-to-employer pharma models.

As healthier members opt out of ACA plans, insurers will be left with sicker patients who they’ll need to push toward lower-cost care.

Drugmakers’ price drops don’t affect all patients the same. Brands and marketers must decode cost complexities where patients already seek out weight loss advice, like on social media.

Aetna is finally finding its footing, managing medical costs more effectively, even as industry-wide pressures remain.

The cash-pay discount hub will offer fewer drugs than GoodRx and have limited reach, but drugmakers must still promote it to drive prescription volumes, especially for uninsured drugs.

Benefits emerge with adherence, increasing pressure on employers to keep coverage.

News on drugmaker deals, weight loss drug coverage, medication price hikes, and health insurance to kick off the New Year.

Promoting savings via pharmacies, doctors, and online patient forums could help raise awareness of these coupons and pass on the savings needed to reduce prescription nonadherence.

Health systems and health insurers are at risk of losing business due to the new law, but have an opportunity to proactively support patients through upcoming changes to Medicaid coverage.

Pharma companies see pricing concessions as the lesser of two evils, as the price cuts grant exemption from Trump’s tariffs on US drug imports.

23% now say it’s in crisis—the highest share in 30 years—with affordability fears at the core.

Younger consumers are more likely than older generations to put off care or treatment due to cost, according to a September 2025 Pymnts survey. Younger consumers are generally healthier than older adults, which may make their medical needs feel less urgent. Provider organizations must show Gen Z why staying on top of their health matters—and that care doesn’t have to be expensive in many instances.

Health insurance outranks all other factors when people consider their next career move, according to a recent survey from Talker Research and Oscar Health. While employers are unlikely to take on more healthcare costs soon due to their own financial strain, they must prioritize worker retention and use open enrollment for transparent communication on cost increases and plan adjustments

The US Senate is moving to end the government shutdown, but the compromise deal leaves out guarantees to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) healthcare tax credits. Without ACA subsidies, younger and healthier consumers will likely drop out of the insurance pool, leaving older and higher-risk enrollees behind. That would drive up premiums and further reduce plan enrollment, putting pressure on insurers and shrinking consumer choice.

Consumers lack familiarity with direct-to-consumer (D2C) pharma services, but many are open to purchasing prescription medications from drugmakers. Pharma companies entering the D2C market must boost awareness of the channel. Pharma brands and marketers should inform pharmacists and doctors of drugmakers' latest D2C options, since they’re key sources for patients with medication cost and coverage questions. They should also create clear educational materials showing how consumers can save on D2C prescriptions, backed by data on limited insurance coverage for certain drug categories.

Novo Nordisk is partnering with Costco to offer the retailer’s members Ozempic and Wegovy for $499 per month, or about half off what the medications cost patients without insurance. Novo tapping into Costco’s customer base of over 100 million US cardholders is a savvy play, especially considering that Costco members skew toward higher-income compared with shoppers generally. Novo and Costco can specifically market to new mothers and families broadly who may be struggling with weight gain due to their busy lives.