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American Association of Health Plans Eye on Patients, published by the American Hospital Association and The Picker Institute National Committe for Quality Assurance
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By
Valerie
J. Nelson "Decisions about your health should be made in the examination room. Not the boardroom." Sound like a commercial for a fee-for-service private practice? Think again. Those words are from an advertisement for the George Washington University Health Plan in Bethesda, Maryland. It’s one of a handful of managed care ads nationwide that’s trying to pull in new members by appealing to public hostility toward health maintenance organizations. Some
might call it "HMO bashing." Those
who practice it cast An HMO adopting such a slogan isn’t taking aim at another plan, but is "attempting to point out its respective strengths," said Joanna Cannon, a communications and project consultant with Preferred Health Network. Until recently, the small HMO in Baltimore used the slogan "Where the doctors make the decisions." Acknowledging imperfection Evidence of a trend toward pointed ads about managed care is "spotty" at best, said Donald E.L. Johnson, editor of Health Care Advertising Review and www.HealthCareNewsServer.com. Only a few of the 11,000 ads run by HMOs that come into their office each year employ such phrases, he adds. "It’s an interesting approach," Johnson said. "I think it’s a smart approach. People are really concerned how they are going to be treated when they are sick. It’s effective, emotional, and a little humble. And it says, ‘We recognize the problem.’ " Carlson said she wouldn’t be surprised if more of this kind of advertising appears, because at the heart of it is a simple point—making a healthcare plan stand out. Carlson has received calls from colleagues praising the ad and wondering why the technique hasn’t been used more. "Advertising in the healthcare arena has been pretty conservative." In general, HMO advertising tends to accentuate the positive, said Donald B. White, a spokesperson for the American Association of Health Plans in Washington, D.C., who has not noticed the use of reverse psychology in healthcare industry ad campaigns. "I find HMO advertising to be positive, concentrating on the advantages of being in an organized care setting," he said. "Perhaps sometimes it can be Pollyanna-ish." There is nothing Pollyanna-ish about an ad that says, "Doctors can’t have the healing touch if their hands are tied," another in George Washington’s most recent campaign. But Carlson said it is no secret that the public does not like the restrictions that come with managed care, and by aiming at them, an ad campaign can show that George Washington is different from the competition. "In doing research, we found a wonderful opportunity to speak to people’s concerns and offer them a real choice because the George Washington University Health Plan really does let doctors spend more time with patients. They are not penalized for referrals," Carlson said. "Those kind of things are meaningful to consumers." The hard-hitting campaign appears to be working. In the fourth quarter of 1997, the plan enrolled more new members and groups than ever before, Carlson said. Making the point Generally, it is difficult to differentiate one health plan from another, Johnson said. They have to distinguish themselves in terms of the benefits they offer—which are usually not significantly different—or how they treat you as a human being. "A lot of it seems to be subliminal," Johnson said. If this approach to advertising works for the people who are trying it now, expect to see more of it, Johnson said. The approach is more common outside health care, as when United Airlines runs an ad campaign that zeros in on the public’s disaffection with flying or a cable company notorious for bad service says it’s trying to get better, he said. "Their ads say, ‘We’re listening,’ something to that effect," Johnson said. "Or ‘We know we haven’t been perfect.’ " Many might argue that choosing a healthcare plan is a more serious decision than selecting a seat on a plane or settling on which all-beef patty meets your needs in the latest burger wars. But not Johnson. "There’s no difference, because it’s all about building a brand, alerting customers to the fact you exist," he said. "Generally, consumers in markets where there is healthcare advertising are happier because they have more of a choice." |
it in a more positive light. KSK Communications,
which dreamed up the George Washington ad,
views it as a "terrifically positive
approach" and a way to "develop
advertising that is meaningful to the target
audience," said Tracy Carlson, who
worked on the campaign that debuted last
year.