Millennials And Boomers Are Split On One Big Doctor Decision

Research has suggested that millennials and baby boomers have different responses to their immediate health needs. A 2019 survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that 82% of the older generation has a primary health care provider compared to only 65% of the younger generation. When asked if it was important for them to see their primary health care provider for every medical need, 51% of baby boomers responded in the affirmative in comparison to a mere 32% of millennials. Moreover, 20% of millennials said they trusted their own judgment in making health-related calls over their primary health care provider in comparison to 14% of baby boomers. 

Safe to say that millennials believe that there are plenty of red flags you should look for in a primary care physician (PCP). According to PR Newswire, a 2015 survey conducted by PNC Healthcare showed that 25% of millennials preferred going to acute care clinics, compared to only 14% of the older generation. A 2025 study in Frontiers in Public Health also highlighted that 51% of millennials visited a primary health care provider less than once a year. Moreover, a study showed that millennials were the most likely generation to be dishonest with their doctors. 

Discussing the disparity between the two generations with US News, Dr. Ateev Mehrotra, an internist and associate professor in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School, said, "These trends are more evident among millennials, but not unique to them. I think people's expectations have changed. Convenience (is prized) in almost every aspect of our lives." While there's no denying that the younger generation is far more accustomed to convenience, there may be plenty of reasons they favor acute care clinics.

According to a 2025 report published by AMN Healthcare, the average wait time for a patient to get an appointment with a doctor in one of the 15 major metropolitan cities in the US was 31 days. In contrast, Redditors have found that the wait times at urgent care clinics are between one and three hours. It's also worth noting that a 2019 study conducted by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Index found that the millennial generation's reluctance to have a primary healthcare provider could signal that they are less interested in preventative care as opposed to the older generation. 

Additionally, research conducted by HealthEquity (via Yahoo! Finance) in 2026 found that 46% of millennials were likely to delay their health care needs in comparison to only 29% of baby boomers. With all of this in mind, there's a higher chance that the younger generation may seek medical attention when they can no longer avoid it and subsequently need shorter waiting times. In many ways, the younger generation could actually benefit from having a primary healthcare provider. 

In a chat with Mercy Health, Tricia Hoersten, MD, said that a primary doctor's relationship with a patient could be particularly strong if they started working together early on. Subsequently, a doctor would be more well-versed with a patient's history and likely be able to identify issues like high cholesterol, depression, and cervical cancer early on. Moreover, having a primary healthcare provider could save you money since their knowledge of your medical history would likely prevent them from recommending unnecessary and expensive tests. Of course, they would also tell you which health symptoms are serious red flags.