U.S. Healthcare Discount Plan Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Service (Health Advocate, Virtual Visits, Alternative Medicines, Prescription Drugs, Dental Care, Vision Care, Hearing Aids), And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2027

Report Overview

The U.S. healthcare discount plan market size was valued at USD 1.6 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.6% from 2020 to 2027. The rising presence of DMPOs that offer affordable plans for various services, including dental care, vision care, chiropractic care, virtual visits, health advocacy, prescription drugs, and alternative medicines, in the U.S. is one of the key factors anticipated to boost its familiarity among the U.S. patient population. Availability of highly discounted health programs, coupled with significant advantages that include individual coverage and family coverage benefits and providing higher discounts in comparison with traditional insurance plans having high monthly premiums, is further anticipated to drive the adoption of healthcare discount plans in the forecast period.

Moreover, increasing investments, public-private partnerships, and collaborations among key market players offering discount plans to lower medication costs and provide members with affordable healthcare options are expected to drive the market in the country. Moreover, increasing focus of healthcare providers to collaborate with key insurance providers to curb healthcare costs and improve the quality of care and treatment outcomes is further propelling the market growth.

Increasing investments by key market players to expand their service portfolio and promote affordable medical treatment is fueling market growth. For instance, in March 2019, United Healthcare invested USD 19 million through its California Health Care Investment Program to enhance care quality and improve patient services at Federally Qualified Health Centers in California. This investment further aids in developing and enhancing various health centers in California to reach certain underserved communities in Solano, Santa Barbara, and Santa Clara counties.

Rising healthcare costs and demand for medical/health discount plans to curb healthcare costs are expected to drive the market. In 2017, healthcare costs in the U.S. were USD 3.5 trillion that accounts for 17.9% of the overall GDP of the country, thus making healthcare one of the largest industries in U.S. Increase in the number of partnerships, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions to deliver affordable treatment, improve quality of care, and patient satisfaction is further driving the demand for healthcare discount plans in the U.S. For instance, in June 2019, Optum acquired DaVita Medical Group to improve treatment experience and care quality while lowering costs and serving over 80 plans.

However, the presence of affordable health insurance companies delivering health service plans to their customers is one of the factors restraining the demand for discount plans in the U.S. as affordable insurance plans prove to be more effective and efficient for consumers. Players such as Kaiser Permanente, BlueCross BlueShield, United Healthcare, and Cigna provide better and affordable insurance plans in comparison to medical discount plans to the customers.

Service Insights

In 2019, the others service segment accounted for the largest revenue share of almost 20.0%. The others segment includes services such as lab services, diabetic supplies, medical supplies, laboratory tests, X-rays and ultrasound, CT Scan and MRI, mammography, endoscopies, surgery, and diagnostics. Growing awareness about discount plans and additional benefits offered by companies on these services is boosting the segment growth in the country.

For instance, Freshbenies offers 10% to 80% off on laboratory tests; 40% to 75% off on MRI and CT scans; and 20% to 50% off on medical equipment. New Benefits, Ltd. offers 40% to 50% off on the national average cost of LASIK surgery and 10% to 80% off on laboratory testing in various categories, such as vitamin and cholesterol levels, allergies, fertility, liver function, and thyroid. Members also save 10% to 50% on supplies related to diabetes testing and receive a fully audible blood glucose meter on their first order.  

Availability of affordable dental plans for individuals as well as families and rising adoption of monthly subscriptions for these plans are the key factors driving the dental care segment. Dental discount plans offer budget-friendly services and dental procedures for individuals and their family. These plans generally range between USD 120 for individuals and USD 169 for families on an annual basis; and between USD 19.0 for individuals and USD 25.0 for families monthly. Moreover, the presence of a large number of DMPOs, specifically operating in the dental sector that offer advanced dental care programs for individual as well as families at affordable prices, is further propelling the segment growth.

The virtual visits segment is anticipated to register the highest CAGR of 12.8% during the forecast period. The rise in healthcare costs, burden of chronic diseases and other conditions, and increasing need to save out-of-pocket expenses and avoid long waiting times at the clinics or hospitals is boosting the segment growth. Increase in the number of mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, and discount plan launches to promote treatment and enhance quality care at low costs is boosting its adoption in the country. For instance, in July 2017, New Benefits, Ltd. collaborated with MDLIVE to expand its telemedicine offerings and meet the growing demand for convenience and quality products.  

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

Growing number of mergers & acquisitions and the launch of innovative healthcare programs are among the key indicators of existing competition in the market. For instance, in September 2019, Sam’s Club partnered with Humana, Quest Diagnostics, and 98point6 and launched an innovative pilot called “Care Accelerator” to make healthcare more affordable for its members. Moreover, in December 2018, Cigna launched the new Cigna Healthy Pregnancy app to help improve health and lower overall healthcare costs for pregnant women. The app included Cigna’s Healthy Pregnancies, Healthy Babies maternity health engagement program. Some of the prominent players in the U.S. healthcare discount plan market are:

DMPOs

• New Benefits, Ltd.

• Access One Consumer Health, Inc.

• CAREINGTON International Corporation

• Ameriplan

• Coverdell

• Alliance Healthcard of Florida, Inc.

Marketer

• United Health Group

• American Dental Care Partners, Inc.

• Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association

• DentalPlans.com, Inc.

• Sam’s West, Inc.

• Humana, Inc.

• Cigna

• Freshbenies

• Discounts by Design

• Xpress Healthcare

U.S. Healthcare Discount Plan Market Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at the country level and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends and opportunities in the sub-segments from 2016 to 2027. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research, Inc. has segmented the U.S. healthcare discount plan market report on the basis of service:

• Service Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)

  • Health Advocate

  • Virtual Visits

  • Alternative Medicines

  • Prescription Drugs

  • Dental Care

  • Vision Care

  • Hearing Aids

  • Chiropractic Care

  • Nurse Services

  • Vitamins & Supplements

  • Wellness Plans

  • Podiatry Plans

  • Others