- Key Insight: Discover how rising millennial chronic conditions accelerate employer healthcare spending.
- What's at Stake: Escalating claims and preventative-care gaps threaten benefit affordability and productivity.
- Supporting Data: Average monthly claims for major events are up nearly 40% since 2020.
- Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review
Young workers are experiencing the fastest increase in healthcare spending, fueled by the rising rates of chronic conditions among millennials.
That was one of the major findings from UnitedHealthcare and Health Action Council's ninth annual white paper. The recently released report shows how high-cost medical care and differing utilization patterns are
From 2023–24 to 2024–25, the percentage of millennials considered "well" decreased from 25% to 22%, while the share with chronic conditions such as obesity, depression and hypertension increased from 44% to 47%.
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"Employers are seeing health issues show up earlier and feeling the cost impact sooner," said Patty Starr, president and CEO of Health Action Council, in a press release. "This report gives plan sponsors the transparency and insight they need to spot health problems earlier, help people stay on top of basic and preventive care, and help them stay healthier while keeping benefits affordable."
Millennial and Gen Z workers are visiting emergency rooms more frequently and engaging with primary care providers less often than any other generation, the report found. Millennials also have the highest behavioral health utilization of any generation, with 36% experiencing behavioral health comorbidity — the co-existence of mental health disorders such as anxiety or depression
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Engaging with a primary care provider can reduce
"I don't want to …. just say, 'Go to your brick-and-mortar provider,' when we know that's not the way they want to engage," Kurtzweil says. "How do we find that hybrid mix of virtual care and brick-and-mortar care to meet the unique needs of the population? That's the secret sauce to truly engaging the new workforce."
Spike in major health events
The report also revealed a significant increase in major health events, which are defined as medical claims exceeding $100,000 annually. These are now twice as common as they were five years ago, and the average monthly claim for these events has jumped nearly 40% since 2020.
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Examples of major health events include heart attacks, strokes, complex surgeries and high-cost conditions like cancer or genetic disorders.
"These trends highlight why employers need deeper, more actionable insights to identify emerging risks and gaps in care," says Kurtzweil. "By analyzing claims data alongside geographic and community health factors, we can help employers identify at-risk populations sooner and take targeted steps to help improve outcomes and lower costs."
In addition to driving up costs,
Men with metabolic conditions such as diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure are seven times more likely to experience a heart attack, stroke or other major health event than men without these conditions. When these events occur, claims can quickly escalate, reaching up to 150% higher for men in their 40s and nearly 160% higher for those over age 65.
While the macro trends identified in the white paper are important, workforces vary, and Kurtzweil advises benefits leaders to analyze their own health data to determine how best to support
"It's all about targeted interventions, trying to get away from that peanut-butter-spread approach across your entire population that maybe worked 20 years ago," Kurtzweil says. "You get a much bigger bang for your buck with those investments and preventive screenings."
