Changing Your Vantage Point
Health benefit exchanges are set to be fully operational by 2014. As part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), these exchanges seek to be a marketplace for consumers to purchase affordable coverage. Subsidies to reduce both the cost of insurance and the out of pocket expenses from copayments and deductibles will be available to eligible consumers as well. Estimates suggest close to 30 million Americans will find coverage through this avenue lowering the uninsured rate to 3%.
These exchanges will revolutionize the way health insurance companies operate. Most Americans receive insurance through their employer. As such, insurance companies have built their world around marketing to them rather than directly to individual consumers. Over the years, insurance company processes, products, and strategies have all conformed to employer choice and preferences. Even the way customer service is organized and how information is shared caters to an employer-centric business model. However, by 2014 health insurance companies will need to operate differently to capitalize on the million of new health consumers entering the market.
Consumers purchase products much differently than employers. Consumer motivation is largely based on personal preferences and emotions while companies make rational decisions based on economic value. So business to consumer (B2C) marketing has been much more demanding and onerous than business to business (B2B) marketing. Health insurance companies as a result have gotten away with minimal efforts in advertising using business publications and newspaper ads that reach CEOs, CFOs, benefit consultants, and decision makers. Marketing campaigns targeting decisions makers has been an easier road to handle than attempting to market the average consumer. In fact most of the insurance policies sold in the United States are through brokers or independent agents hired by a business that receives compensation from the company whose product gets sold. Consequently, the construct of this industry has kept marketing innovation and ingenuity at bay. For years the basic message segmentation for B2B advertisements has been limited to industry and firm size.
Not all insurance companies suffer from this lack of consumer centric segmentation however. The car insurance industry is a perfect example of what the health insurance industry will aspire to be by 2014. Geckos and cave men, made up stores with humorous sales representatives, over the top actors representing natural disasters and unfortunate accidents, and catchy jingles all represent the car insurance industry’s push for market share catering to consumer preferences. Geico, Progressive, Allstate, and State Farm have all used innovative TV, internet, and other media ads recently to differentiate themselves. One main reason is because car insurance is largely purchased at the consumer level. As such, the industry caters solely to the wants, needs, and desires of the personal shopper. They have developed enhanced customer service levels, easy to use online tools, and a wide array of products and services all with a focus on consumer appeal. The consumer is essentially the center of the strategy. After all, it is the consumer who has the power to terminate the policy at any time; not the consumer’s employer.
Health insurance companies have a tough road ahead if they wish to compete at the same level. Moving from an employer-centric model to a consumer-centric model is more than just a mission and a vision. It really is a shift in corporate culture. It starts from the top down as much as it does from the bottom up. The CEO must believe in the change as well as the customer service representative answering the phone. There must be a commitment to innovation, ease of use, positive public perception, and consumer preference. The products offered must allow for customization and flexibility. The policies for grievances, appeals, and complaints must be customer friendly and aimed at pleasing the client. Such attributes have unfortunately been foreign to the health insurance industry and they have less than 2 years to quickly figure it all out.
Originally Posted at NYU’s Health Policy Blog
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