Health Insurance Exchange Marketing: Beyond the Basics
We have already talked about how the state agencies need to make people more aware about the health insurance Exchanges. However, there is more to the collaboration that would be needed between the state agencies and the community to ensure that the target of brining the uninsured under a basic coverage is actually met.
State authorities have been meeting regularly to discuss about how the insurance software solutions can help them provide the kind of Exchange services that has the ability to attract people. The people in-charge of running the Exchanges are brainstorming to devise plans about creating workgroups,
where each group will have the role to target a specific section of the community and inform them why buying from the health insurance Exchanges is easy and more affordable than the private marketplace.
The idea is to create community groups that can function at par with the navigators and assisters and can reach out to the most disregarded of people, i.e. from the health insurance perspective. Such workgroups should have the understanding of health plans listed for health care enrollment at the Exchanges and should be able to recommend a health plan to an individual or a family. Each workgroup should be able to answer basic queries like employee benefit management at the Shop Exchange or Medicare application process.
Officials in States that have agreed to the state Exchange format are currently developing a branding exercise for the masses. The idea is to market the Exchanges in such a manner that they seem more credible and user friendly than the private health Exchanges, with an emphasis on affordability and ease of coverage. Market research studies are being held to decode which section of the community will be the most suited for the initial phase of enrollment where the traditionally-uninsured are likely to be targeted.
Some States are mulling the creation of service centers that will be created across districts to act on behalf of the Exchange. These centers will be able to accept health care enrollment papers like Medicare applications. These would be run by people who understand the metal-tiered plan structure of the Exchanges and can recommend a health plan based upon out-of-pocket expenses or extent of coverage. Grants received from the federal government are already being directed towards training brokers and finance professionals or those with actuarial training so that they can take-up the role of assisters or navigators. Some states expect a severe shortfall of the navigator personnel and have thus, enrolled people from community organizations who are being trained about the ACA mandates.
The training programs for volunteers and those employed by the state Exchanges are such that linguistic and cultural challenges can be overcome. This is why state authorities are hosting training modules in English and Spanish apart from expanding their social media outreach to ensure that people are sensitized about how the Exchanges are taking shape. People, who have worked in welfare organizations, serving the poor and underprivileged, have been enrolled since they have a direct connect with those who have usually never been insured. The real challenge lies in making the less educated and the underprivileged understand that the Exchanges are not exploitative like the private health insurance domain. Such folks need to be made to believe that the Exchanges have been conceptualized with the vision of making health insurance possible for the less fortunate.
