Healthcare Reform: What does the term mean to you?

Direct Choice Inc. Senior Account Director Christine Wagner has developed a successful career in direct marketing, and in an effort to continue to build her client base and expertise, she has begun using social media as a business tool.

Healthcare Reform.

The mere combination of those two words can cause petitions to be developed and approval ratings to fluctuate, but is the term
misleading?

In general, most controversial debates about the healthcare reform issue centers around insurance (as opposed to topics like procedures and patient care), including the financial, network, accountability and administrative aspects. But, the idea that solving health insurance is all that is needed is too narrow, and I think the media loses sight of that. True healthcare reform needs to deliver quality care at an affordable price; paying doctors, hospitals and other facilities their fair share, without further deepening our national fiscal crisis.

That being said, we all know the world of health insurance could change with a big bang come 2014. At that point, carriers will not be able to turn away anyone who applies for coverage, nor will they be able to rate them at a level at which they couldn’t afford coverage. However, as the health insurance world continues to evolve, I have found that the biggest concerns and challenges my clients are facing are more in the short-term rather than looking down the road to 2014. They are thinking more about maintaining their current base of healthy members. Because I work primarily with Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations, there are a lot of National Carriers invading individual “Blues states”, undercutting their rates and looking to steal away their individual members. The Blues need to really ramp up their Customer Retention efforts and keep that healthy base of membership.

In this vein, as I am developing strategies for 2012, I am finding that a lot of my ideas are focused on campaigns based in brand building and targeting segments, in addition to proven marketing staples like direct mail. More and more, it is becoming necessary for consumers to be made aware of who they can trust and who has been there for them. Ideally, this would come with a social media component (which followers of my posts will note I am quickly becoming more comfortable in) to help increase the number of leads they can generate.

The Healthcare Reform mandates are nearing their implementation dates, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t hurdles to cross before then.

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Direct Choice Inc. is a full-service direct marketing agency that has worked with national and regional brands in a wide variety of vertical markets. In addition to this blog, you can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.