2027 Selecting a Provider & Health System Study

Overview

Finding satisfactory care shapes more than health outcomes. It shapes how consumers perceive their coverage and the health systems they rely on. As the lines between payers and providers blur, a consumer’s experience with one increasingly colors their view of the other.

Consumers don’t all search the same way. A young couple on a commercial plan shops for care differently than a Medicare member managing a new diagnosis. Knowing what drives those decisions, and how they vary by segment, is how payers and health systems win loyalty.

Our study examines how consumers find and choose providers and health systems. It shows:

How to improve the experience of consumers seeking a new primary care provider
The value payers and health systems bring consumers through in-network status
How consumers’ relationships with specific providers affect their loyalty to, and preference for, the health systems those providers belong to
How preferences and behaviors differ across segments, including coverage type, age and life stage, and health needs

What's Inside the Study

The 2027 study examines how U.S. adults search for and select health systems, specialists, and geriatric and pediatric care. It also shows how health systems can improve retention of their PCP patients, and what it takes to have those patients choose the same system for every form of care they need.

Health system selection. Shows what drives selection and satisfaction across life stages.
PCP selection. Shows what influences PCP selection and satisfaction.
Marketing levers. Identifies the marketing-based elements that influence the provider search process, so care delivery organizations and payors alike know which levers to pull.

What’s New

What keeps patients in-system. Identifies which tactics most influence patients to stay within their health system for specialty care, surgery, and pediatrics, and how much carrier outreach steering members to high-performing providers matters in that decision.
The “virtuous cycle.” Tests whether a virtuous cycle carries patients from a health system’s PCP to its OB and pediatric care.
Surgical care center decisions. Adds a new conjoint analysis of what drives patients’ choice of surgical care center: proximity, quality metrics, provider brand appeal, reduced deductible, availability, and whether the option sits within their current health system. It shows care delivery organizations and carriers what matters most when patients schedule some of their costliest care.

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Explore Last Year’s Insights

2026 How the U.S. Consumer Selects a Provider and Health System Study SIP

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Insights from the 2026 Report

Insurance Acceptance and Convenience Drive Provider Choice
Patients choose primary care providers based primarily on practical considerations, not personal attributes. In-network status is the most important factor when selecting a PCP, followed by convenience factors such as location and appointment availability. When patients need a new provider, insurer websites and apps are typically their first resource.

Primary Care Relationships Are Strong and Highly Stable
Eighty-five percent of adults report having a primary care provider, and overall satisfaction is high. Only about one-third of patients have considered switching PCPs, and when they do change providers, it is usually due to insurance changes, provider moves, or other logistical reasons rather than dissatisfaction with care.