How Decision Utility Bridges the Affordability Gap in Treatment Journeys

In 2025, financial strain continues to shape healthcare decisions. According to eMarketer, two-thirds of U.S. families call healthcare costs a financial burden, and one in three adults have delayed care due to affordability concerns.

Yet, many consumers don’t know where to find cost-saving options, leading them to drop off in their health journey or opt for alternative treatments.

These decisions are made long before prescriptions are filled. By showing up with cost support earlier in the health journey—when consumers are still asking questions and researching their options—pharma brands can turn hesitation into action and drive better outcomes.

Cost Confusion Leads to Drop-Off

Emarketer reports that one in three consumers are concerned about affording prescription drugs in the next year.

Caregivers feel this strain acutely, often making tough choices about care for themselves or their loved ones. Many are Millennials, managing the health needs of both children and aging parents. When cost friction arises, they’re more likely to delay or abandon treatment.

Yet even financially sensitive consumers often aren’t aware of cost-saving options. Some don’t know where to find these options, while others assume they won’t qualify. Too often, offers surface too late—after the decision to walk away has already been made.

This is where decision utility matters—embedding cost-saving tools in the places and moments that help people keep moving forward.

Decision Utility Bridges the Gap Between Awareness and Action

Health decisions don’t begin in the exam room. Most consumers start their journey in search, where they research symptoms, read treatment comparisons, or learn what others with the same condition are doing. These early-stage moments are full of questions, and also full of opportunity. 

If a consumer sees a co-pay offer while researching a condition, it changes their calculus. The path forward becomes clearer, and care feels more within reach. But this only works if affordability information is presented when and where it matters. 

When pharma brands partner with Healthline Media to promote a treatment savings program, the team places the offering in several locations for discoverability at multiple points in the health journey, from educational treatment articles (7% CTR to brand.com) and cost-specific articles (15% CTR), to high-intent, savings-focused pages (39% CTR). 

The result? Consumers have more opportunities to find the offer during their research process—and the brand sees a meaningful lift in card activations and prescription fills. This is what decision utility looks like in action. It’s not flashy. It’s functional. And it works.

Prioritizing Affordability Builds Trust and Adherence

Affordability isn’t just about economics—it’s about trust. When brands offer real cost support early in the consumer journey, they signal empathy. They say: We understand this is a factor, and we’re here to help. 

That kind of message resonates, especially with caregivers who are constantly navigating complex health journeys, often with limited resources and even less time. When a brand shows up with a clear path forward—financially and clinically—they’re more likely to stick around.

And when that support is personalized, integrated across channels, and delivered through a trusted voice? That’s when it becomes part of a larger ecosystem of care, not just a one-time offer. 

Healthline Media’s ACTIVATE solution allows brands to extend this messaging across web, email, and social—so affordability support becomes part of the full consumer journey.

Compared with other users visiting condition content, those engaged by ACTIVATE are 166% more likely to engage in key actions, such as clicking on a treatment savings card, signing up for a newsletter, clicking on an ad, or taking a quiz.

Turning Affordability Into a Strategic Advantage

Affordability will remain a defining issue in healthcare, especially as economic pressures persist. With the right strategy, brands can shift from being part of the frustration to part of the solution.

Affordability shouldn’t be treated as a last-mile tactic—it’s a powerful front-line engagement tool. When marketers embed cost-saving solutions early in the journey, especially within trusted environments, they can reduce drop-off, build trust, and keep consumers on the path to care. That’s the power of decision utility: helping bridge the gap between intention and meaningful action. 

Healthline Media helps brands move beyond awareness to true decision support, meeting consumers where it counts most and improving outcomes along the way.

Connect with Healthline Media and bring decision utility to your next campaign.