Investing To Save: Marketing Builds Stable Marketplaces And Saves Money

How to stabilize individual health insurance markets and lower premiums for consumers is rightly one of the hot button issues before policy makers at the state and national levels. Providing ongoing direct funding of the cost-sharing reduction subsidies and creating a national reinsurance program are among the good ideas getting appropriate attention. What is getting far too little attention, however, is another proven way to increase enrollment, lower premiums, save consumers money, and encourage health plan participation to stabilize the markets: making major investments in marketing and outreach. Marketing is one of the most important elements of creating and continuing any successful business. Investments are critical to convincing consumers to buy all types of products and services. The individual health insurance market is no different. Indeed, selling health insurance can be harder than selling other products because of human biases against spending money today for potential benefits tomorrow, and also because consumers often need education and assistance to understand and choose among coverage options. Accordingly, over the last two years the federal government has increased its marketing and outreach investments to support enrollment in the individual markets served by the federally-facilitated marketplace (FFM). The annual spending for marketing and enrollment support (notably through the Navigator program) increased from $118 million for the 2016 enrollment year to...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Following the ACA Insurance and Coverage ACA marketing ACA Marketplaces risk mix Source Type: blogs