March 2009 Health Care Messaging Webinar March 2009 Communicating the Value of Health Programs During Tough Economic Times March 2009.

March 2009

Health Care Messaging WebinarHealth Care Messaging WebinarMarch 2009

Communicating the Value of Health Programs During Tough Economic Times

March 2009

Session Goals

What Stakeholders are Saying

Health care and the

economy

What’s on the Airwaves

The time is now

Choice and

Competition

What President Obama is Saying

“…We can no longer afford to put health care reform on hold. Already, we have done more to advance the cause of health care reform in the last thirty days than we have in the last decade.”

“Healthcare reform is no longer just a moral imperative, it is a fiscal imperative. If we want to create jobs and rebuild our economy, then we must address the crushing cost of healthcare this year, in this administration.”

What Advocates are Saying

“President Obama is absolutely correct that the nation’s economy and the federal budget deficit cannot be fixed without meaningful health care reform. It is essential that the reform process begin immediately so that legislation can be adopted as early as possible…”

- Ron Pollack, Executive Director, Families USA

“We challenge the rest of Congress to join with the President…and to support reform that puts our families' health and the health of our nation's

economy before insurance and drug company profits.”

- Richard Kirsch, National Campaign Manager, Health Care for America Now

What Members of Congress are Saying

“Health care reform is not a distraction from addressing the economy. Health care reform is central to restoring America’s economy. Comprehensive health reform legislation must be part of any successful economic recovery plan.” 

- Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana)

"I want to make sure if we have a national system of health care it is going to deliver the same thing in Iowa as it does in California, because for 40 years it didn't."

- Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)

What the Health Care Industry is Saying

“Our nation cannot achieve economic security if we don’t have health care security…And alarmingly, more and more Americans are likely to be without access to affordable health coverage as unemployment rates rise and businesses struggle to stay afloat.”

- Billy Tauzin, President and CEO, PhRMA

"All Americans should have health insurance and high quality, affordable health care, regardless of employment or health status…Proposed investments in

prevention and wellness, quality improvements and training to address health professional work-force shortages are down payments on a healthier nation.”

- Nancy H. Nielsen, President, American Medical Association

What Insurers are Saying

“This time we’re coming to the table with solutions, we want to be part of the process, we pledged that to the president. We’re calling for new regulations on our

industry to make sure everyone has guaranteed access to coverage.”

- Mike Tuffin, Executive Vice President, America’s Health Insurance Plans

"I'm very encouraged by what's going on now…My impression is that there's been a real openness to reach out to diverse interests, not leaving anyone out—which is how a lot of people felt back in the 1990s…They seem to have learned the lessons of what not to do this time."

- Bill Gradison, former head of the Health Insurance Association of America, which funded the 1994 "Harry and Louise" ad campaign

What Business Leaders are Saying

“If we’re going to recover from this economy and we’re going to get the economy going and the budget problem solved we cannot do it without solving the health care crisis…Just about every plan out there is better than doing nothing at this point…”

- John Arensmeyer, Founder, Small Business Majority

“We know where everyone stood. But they don't stand there anymore…We're going to get some kind of an agreement here,

whether it's two-thirds of what everybody wants or three-quarters of what everybody wants or who knows.”

-Thomas J. Donohue, President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Messages for Your Situation

Rising Costs and Economy

Fixing Health Care = Fixing Economy

Loss of Jobs = Loss of Insurance

Strained State Budgets

Need for Bipartisan Support

Covering the Uninsured

Appeal to Small Business

National messaging

State-focused

message

Promote Enrollment

Strengthen Your Message With Proof Points

Health insurance premiums have risen four times faster than wages over the past six years. (Kaiser)

By 2016, at least half of American households will need to spend more than 45% of their income to buy health insurance. (New America Foundation)

In the past three months alone, the unemployment rate has risen from 6.7% to 8.1%. As a result, it is estimated that at least one million Americans will lose their health coverage. (Department of Labor/Kaiser)

Despite the fact that economic news has continued to worsen, roughly six in 10 Americans (62%) say the country’s economic problems make it more important than ever to take on health care reform. (Kaiser)

In the past year, more than half of all American households (53%) have cut back on health care due to cost. (Kaiser)

In 2007, 41% of working-age Americans had a problem paying medical bills or had medical debt. (Families USA)

Strengthen Your Message With Proof Points

How to Create and Test Messages

Value of Core MessagesA core set of messages is important in that it:

Steps to Creating Messages

Creating Messages

Steps for Testing Messages

Testing Messages on a Budget

Themes and Words that Work

Tips and Tricks

Sources for Message Development

• Alliance for Health Reform: www.allhealth.org

• Commonwealth Fund: www.cmwf.org

• Families USA: www.familiesusa.org

• HealthReform.gov: www.healthreform.gov

• Herndon Alliance: www.herndonalliance.org

• Kaiser Family Foundation: www.kff.org

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: www.rwjf.org

• Small Business Majority: www.smallbusinessmajority.org

Questions & Answers