The Hidden Cost of Ignoring Health Equity

The True Cost of Health Inequity 

The impact of inequity is visible across the country: 

• Nearly 30 million Americans are still uninsured, with low-income and minority groups most affected.³ 

• Patients in rural communities are 60 percent more likely to delay care because of access barriers.¹ 

• Disparities cost the U.S. healthcare system $320 billion each year, a figure projected to triple by 2040.² 

Behind these numbers are patients with unmanaged conditions, preventable hospitalizations, and delayed diagnoses. The financial toll is huge, but the long-term damage to trust is just as serious.

Why Patients Walk Away 

Equity is not just about whether a clinic exists in a neighborhood. It is about whether patients feel seen, understood, and supported once they walk through the door. 

When patients face barriers such as long travel times, unclear communication, or cultural disconnects, many do not come back.  

They postpone appointments until problems become urgent. They switch providers when they do not feel heard. And they often share those negative experiences with their communities, reinforcing a cycle of distrust—where patients disengage, their voices go unheard, and the system continues to overlook their needs. 

Why Healthcare Leaders Can't Afford to Ignore It 

For healthcare leaders, the costs of ignoring equity are not hypothetical: 

• Clinical costs: Higher rates of complications and readmissions. 

• Financial costs: More resources are spent on conditions that could have been managed earlier. 

• Reputational costs: Loss of trust from patients who feel excluded. 

• Operational costs: Strain on already limited staff and infrastructure. 

Equity failures damage credibility, hinder institutional growth, and limit long-term sustainability. 

How Market Research Helps Pave the Path Forward 

Equity gaps are often invisible until you ask the right questions. Market research helps leaders see where patients are falling through the cracks and why. 

It provides clarity on: 

• Where patients feel dismissed or misunderstood 

• How language, literacy, or cultural differences shape experiences 

• What access barriers prevent follow-through 

• Which messages build or break trust 

By surfacing these insights, market research equips leaders to redesign care around real patient needs, not assumptions. It also helps avoid blanket strategies that overlook critical differences between groups. 

To address these gaps, MDRG recommends a mixed-method approach that combines: 

• Qualitative tools (like metaphor elicitation, ethnography, and in-depth interviews) to uncover emotional barriers and unconscious drivers 

• Quantitative methods (like segmentation, brand tracking, MaxDiff, and conjoint analysis) to measure how widespread those issues are 

We often layer in specialized studies like our Healthcare Experience (HX) Index, Customer Insights Assessments, and equity-informed Brand Health Tracking to understand where trust breaks down, where access stalls, and how different patient groups perceive your organization. Journey mapping and barrier identification further clarify where patients drop off and why they leave. 

This approach goes beyond assumptions to reveal the emotional and practical forces shaping care decisions, equipping healthcare leaders to act with clarity and confidence. 

The Bottom Line 

Health equity is not a box to check, but rather a measure of how well healthcare works. Systems that prioritize listening to patients, addressing barriers, and committing to equity as a core priority will be stronger, more resilient, and more trusted in the long run. 

References 

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Rural health policy briefs: Barriers to care. https://www.cdc.gov/ruralhealth/about.html 

1. Deloitte. (2022, July). The economic impact of health inequities in the United States. Deloitte Insights. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/health-care/economic-cost-of-health-disparities.html 

1. Kaiser Family Foundation. (2023, March). Key facts about the uninsured population. https://www.kff.org/uninsured/issue-brief/key-facts-about-the-uninsured-population/