Let’s assume, for argument’s sake, that a government-run health insurance option is part of the healthcare reform package that ultimately gets enacted (note: this also assumes that any healthcare reform package gets enacted). The health insurance industry is worried that the government plan will siphon off business. Well, I know four things health insurers can start doing right now to ensure they win big even in the face of a government option.
1. “Developing products and services that improve the quality of health care and help control rising benefits costs.”
2. “Providing members with access to convenient tools and easy-to-understand information that can help them make better-informed decisions about their health and financial wellbeing.”
3. “Introducing new levels of transparency to the health care system.”
4. “Pioneering new ways to focus on wellness and prevention programs.”
Coincidentally, these four quotes appeared in Congressional testimony given this week by Aetna chairman Ron Williams, pointing to investments his company is making to positively impact the physical and financial health of its customers.
Williams, like the rest of the insurance industry, is still against the government-run option. But he has mapped the road to success: it’s called innovation.
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