What Is Aetna Marketing Success In Health Care
RUNNING HEAD: AETNA: MARKETING SUCCESS IN HEALTHCARE 1
“Aetna: Marketing Success in Health Care” Tara Brown Professor Charmaine Rhames HSA 305-Health Care Marketing May 30, 2013
This research was conducted and studied by Professor Charmaine Rhames.
AETNA: MARKETING SUCCESS IN HEALTH CARE 2 Abstract …show more content…
This research discusses the personal characteristics of users and concepts such as age, gender/sex, race, income, socioeconomic status, education, availability of care, culture, and patients beliefs. It analyzes the competitive environment of Aetna and recommends a course of action for strategic marketing success. It points out which tools of the marketing mix available to health care providers that would be most effective for Aetna. Finally, it determines the best pricing strategy for at least one of the products and services offered by Aetna.
AETNA: MARKETING SUCCESS IN HEALTH CARE 3
Introduction
Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits businesses, serving approximately 37.2 million people with information and resources to help them create better well-informed decisions about their health care.
Aetna provides a comprehensive variety of customary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life, disability plans, and medical management capabilities; and health care management services for Medicaid plans.
1. Determine the key characteristics of the users of the products and/or services of the health care provider you selected. There are some personal characteristics of users such as age, gender/sex, race, income, socioeconomic status, education, availability of care, culture and patients beliefs. Age is …show more content…
also a factor for utilization of specific services (see Figure 4.2).
An example, “significant age-related disparities appear to exist for both evidence based and non-evidence based cancer-screening interventions.”(Kotler, Shalowitz, and Stephens, 2008, page 89.) The gender and sex factor is displayed in Figure 4.1 where women used health care services more than men. The fact that men and women differ in their health-seeking behaviors depends on whether the intervention symbolizes appropriate care versus over-or underutilization. There is a very important role that women are faced is knowing which products used to treat childhood diseases in developed nations to lead their family’s health care needs to a particular hospital or get a brand of medication. (Kotler, Shalowitz, and Stephens, 2008, page 90). Race is difficult category to define. Sometimes people of mixed backgrounds identify with only one, thus confounding studies that rely on self- reporting. Many findings associated with
AETNA: MARKETING SUCCESS IN HEALTH CARE 4 racial differences can be explained on the basis of socioeconomics or education (two
other, independent determinants of health care usage). For example, a study of adult preventive dental care showed that racial disparities among whites, African-Americans, and Mexican
Americans were “no longer significant since resource variables are included in the model
(income level, insurance, census region, and metropolitan statistical area.).” Likewise, disparities in treatment outcomes may or may not be related primarily to race. Health providers deliver care of diverse types and frequencies to people of different racial backgrounds. An example is that minorities are less likely to receive adequate cancer pain management. Another example is that African Americans are less likely to have access to kidney transplants. Finally, one should not assume uniformity within any racial or ethnic group. For example, variations are found among adolescents of different Latino origins with respect to frequency of and reasons for obtaining routine physical examinations. These findings highlight the need to research the appropriate market segments for a product or service. (Kotler, Shalowitz, and
Stephens, 2008, page 91). Income affects health care products and service by providing the affluent certain opportunities, but which services are used in verifying income status. For example, higher
Economic strata use specialist services more than those at lower levels such as health status and insurance are factored out. An additional area of investigation has been the effect of social status on health outcomes. (Kotler, Shalowitz, and Stephens, 2008, page 92). Education is also an independent determinant of health care use. In a cross sectional survey of 5,556 patients from fifteen European countries, patients with higher education had lower
AETNA: MARKETING SUCCESS IN HEALTH CARE 5 global coronary risk, than those with lower education. Lower education was found to be a significant risk factor for hospitalization in most diagnostic categories. There was no difference in “vaccination rates with respect to gender, paternal education level, number of siblings, and socio-economic status.” “Women with no formal education qualification were more likely to report back pain than women who had a qualification. These associations were not explained by smoking, obesity, and co-existent depressive symptoms.”
(Kotler, Shalowitz, and Stephens, 2008, page 92). Availability of care, including insurance status, has probably the most obvious influence on use of health care services; however, this effect is not limited to the status of the insured individual. For example, it is remarkable to note that insured, low-income children with an uninsured parent are less likely to practice provider visits and well-child exams than the parents are insured. “The most common reason for delay in seeking medical help was its inconvenience involved in making the initial contact with a doctor. It also involves waiting too long in line to be seen at an outpatient clinic or it was too much trouble to be seen by a doctor.”
(Kotler, Shalowitz, and Stephens, 2008, pages 93-94). Finally, culture and patients’ beliefs about the health care system have powerful effects on use of health care resources. Culture is defined as “the collective programming of one’s mind that distinguishes members of one group or category of people from another. A culture of a group can be defined as a pattern of shared basic assumptions. Here are examples of the effects of culture and beliefs on health care utilization:
(1) The perception that cancer treatment had advanced in Tunsia was positively associated with use of screening in that country.
AETNA: MARKETING SUCCESS IN HEALTH CARE 6
(2) The primary reason Swedes who needed health care refrained from visiting a doctor was lacking confidence in the health care system.
(3) In a population of U. S. Chinese immigrants, one quarter of those surveyed believed cancer is contagious and many believed it is caused by immoral behavior.
(4) Intercultural differences in perceiving or reporting back pain can be hypothesized as the most likely explanation of the markedly different prevalence rates of the disorder are in countries like the United Kingdom, also in East and West Germany.
(5) With regard to households from Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh “…the status of women, and their exposure to and interaction with the outside world and control over decision making at home, explained the differences between the two groups, with the former being healthier than the latter.
(6) “African-American women who had used religion/spirituality in the past for health reasons were more likely to have seen a medical doctor during the year prior to the interview, compared to their counterparts.”
(Kotler, Shalowitz, and Stevens, 2008, pages 94-95).
2. Analyze the competitive environment of the health care provider you selected and recommend a course of action for strategic marketing success. Over the past 20 years, the growth of the U. S. marketplace has gotten Aetna to boost our local presence. Aetna has created and implemented strategies that concentrate on providing our health and related benefits to some of the fastest growing segments in the United States. As part of this marketing strategy, Community Relations and Urban Marketing centers its efforts on grassroots strategies that better speaks the needs of a changing marketplace. Our competency
AETNA: MARKETING SUCCESS IN HEALTH CARE 7 is relationship management. Through the maintenance of strong internal and external relationships, an organization acts as a catalyst for change by making a strong Aetna brand.
Here are some factors Community Relations and Urban Marketing’s areas of focus:
(1) Incremental business growth through national and local relationships
(2) Enterprise consultation to achieve infrastructure needed to effectively target key growth segments
(3) Multilingual & multicultural experience around Aetna’s brand to improve purchase consideration
(4) Volunteerism and employee engagement
(5) Strategic philanthropy to deepen our local market presence and alignment with business objectives Finally, Aetna meets our efforts on grassroots strategies that better serve the needs of a changing marketplace. Aetna plans by supporting community events; working with community leaders and organizations; helping employers managing their changing workforce, and working with brokers and providers to support their business objectives.
3. Determine which tools of the marketing mix available to health care providers would be most effective for the health care provider you selected. The two factors for Aetna would be price and place. Aetna has a pricing new and renewal business for a higher level of utilization in 2012. It expects to add about 300,000 new members and end the year with 18.2 million members. The projected growth will be across its Medicaid,
Medicare, and commercial business lines. Launched in 2012, our Aetna in Touch Care program provides a new option in care management that gives members more personalized care support,
AETNA: MARKETING SUCCESS IN HEALTH CARE 8 programs and tools to engage them early and keep them motivated. We help our members put all of the available tools and information to work for them by creating health care easier to use and understand. By making health care simpler, we help people stay healthier.
4. Determine the best possible pricing strategy for at least one of the products or services offered by the health care provider you selected. Aetna provide members with meaningful information that help them make value-based health care decisions and be responsible health care consumers. In the past decade, Aetna led the way to greater transparency for consumers in health care quality and pricing. This insurance company continues to create new levels of transparency possible through innovation. Our
Member Payment Estimator offers real time, out-of-pocket cost estimates for in-network and out-of-network for more than 550 commonly used, non-emergency health care services. This level provides members a more complete cost picture to better plan for health care services.
Spiraling costs hover the long-term sustainability of our health care system where studies have shown as much as one-third of these costs are the result of waste in the system.
Summary
In conclusion, I pointed out the personal characteristics along with some examples. I recommended a course of action where products are services could be supported by community groups implementing strategies through change. I selected the price and place.
Most consumers today think about cost of health care and places they would be beneficial to them. Finally, consumers should think about health plan that is suitable to their budgetary needs. AETNA: MARKETING SUCCESS IN HEALTH CARE 9 References
Kotler, Philip, Shalowitz, Joel, and Stevens, Robert J., “Strategic Marketing for Health
Care Organizations,” (2008). pages 89-95. Retrieved from www.josseybass.com
Aetna, Inc. (2012). Retrieved from www.aetna.com
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2012/03/junk-health-insurance/index.htm
“Aetna: Marketing Success in Health Care” Tara Brown Professor Charmaine Rhames HSA 305-Health Care Marketing May 30, 2013
This research was conducted and studied by Professor Charmaine Rhames.
AETNA: MARKETING SUCCESS IN HEALTH CARE 2 Abstract …show more content…
This research discusses the personal characteristics of users and concepts such as age, gender/sex, race, income, socioeconomic status, education, availability of care, culture, and patients beliefs. It analyzes the competitive environment of Aetna and recommends a course of action for strategic marketing success. It points out which tools of the marketing mix available to health care providers that would be most effective for Aetna. Finally, it determines the best pricing strategy for at least one of the products and services offered by Aetna.
AETNA: MARKETING SUCCESS IN HEALTH CARE 3
Introduction
Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits businesses, serving approximately 37.2 million people with information and resources to help them create better well-informed decisions about their health care.
Aetna provides a comprehensive variety of customary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life, disability plans, and medical management capabilities; and health care management services for Medicaid plans.
1. Determine the key characteristics of the users of the products and/or services of the health care provider you selected. There are some personal characteristics of users such as age, gender/sex, race, income, socioeconomic status, education, availability of care, culture and patients beliefs. Age is …show more content…
also a factor for utilization of specific services (see Figure 4.2).
An example, “significant age-related disparities appear to exist for both evidence based and non-evidence based cancer-screening interventions.”(Kotler, Shalowitz, and Stephens, 2008, page 89.) The gender and sex factor is displayed in Figure 4.1 where women used health care services more than men. The fact that men and women differ in their health-seeking behaviors depends on whether the intervention symbolizes appropriate care versus over-or underutilization. There is a very important role that women are faced is knowing which products used to treat childhood diseases in developed nations to lead their family’s health care needs to a particular hospital or get a brand of medication. (Kotler, Shalowitz, and Stephens, 2008, page 90). Race is difficult category to define. Sometimes people of mixed backgrounds identify with only one, thus confounding studies that rely on self- reporting. Many findings associated with
AETNA: MARKETING SUCCESS IN HEALTH CARE 4 racial differences can be explained on the basis of socioeconomics or education (two
other, independent determinants of health care usage). For example, a study of adult preventive dental care showed that racial disparities among whites, African-Americans, and Mexican
Americans were “no longer significant since resource variables are included in the model
(income level, insurance, census region, and metropolitan statistical area.).” Likewise, disparities in treatment outcomes may or may not be related primarily to race. Health providers deliver care of diverse types and frequencies to people of different racial backgrounds. An example is that minorities are less likely to receive adequate cancer pain management. Another example is that African Americans are less likely to have access to kidney transplants. Finally, one should not assume uniformity within any racial or ethnic group. For example, variations are found among adolescents of different Latino origins with respect to frequency of and reasons for obtaining routine physical examinations. These findings highlight the need to research the appropriate market segments for a product or service. (Kotler, Shalowitz, and
Stephens, 2008, page 91). Income affects health care products and service by providing the affluent certain opportunities, but which services are used in verifying income status. For example, higher
Economic strata use specialist services more than those at lower levels such as health status and insurance are factored out. An additional area of investigation has been the effect of social status on health outcomes. (Kotler, Shalowitz, and Stephens, 2008, page 92). Education is also an independent determinant of health care use. In a cross sectional survey of 5,556 patients from fifteen European countries, patients with higher education had lower
AETNA: MARKETING SUCCESS IN HEALTH CARE 5 global coronary risk, than those with lower education. Lower education was found to be a significant risk factor for hospitalization in most diagnostic categories. There was no difference in “vaccination rates with respect to gender, paternal education level, number of siblings, and socio-economic status.” “Women with no formal education qualification were more likely to report back pain than women who had a qualification. These associations were not explained by smoking, obesity, and co-existent depressive symptoms.”
(Kotler, Shalowitz, and Stephens, 2008, page 92). Availability of care, including insurance status, has probably the most obvious influence on use of health care services; however, this effect is not limited to the status of the insured individual. For example, it is remarkable to note that insured, low-income children with an uninsured parent are less likely to practice provider visits and well-child exams than the parents are insured. “The most common reason for delay in seeking medical help was its inconvenience involved in making the initial contact with a doctor. It also involves waiting too long in line to be seen at an outpatient clinic or it was too much trouble to be seen by a doctor.”
(Kotler, Shalowitz, and Stephens, 2008, pages 93-94). Finally, culture and patients’ beliefs about the health care system have powerful effects on use of health care resources. Culture is defined as “the collective programming of one’s mind that distinguishes members of one group or category of people from another. A culture of a group can be defined as a pattern of shared basic assumptions. Here are examples of the effects of culture and beliefs on health care utilization:
(1) The perception that cancer treatment had advanced in Tunsia was positively associated with use of screening in that country.
AETNA: MARKETING SUCCESS IN HEALTH CARE 6
(2) The primary reason Swedes who needed health care refrained from visiting a doctor was lacking confidence in the health care system.
(3) In a population of U. S. Chinese immigrants, one quarter of those surveyed believed cancer is contagious and many believed it is caused by immoral behavior.
(4) Intercultural differences in perceiving or reporting back pain can be hypothesized as the most likely explanation of the markedly different prevalence rates of the disorder are in countries like the United Kingdom, also in East and West Germany.
(5) With regard to households from Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh “…the status of women, and their exposure to and interaction with the outside world and control over decision making at home, explained the differences between the two groups, with the former being healthier than the latter.
(6) “African-American women who had used religion/spirituality in the past for health reasons were more likely to have seen a medical doctor during the year prior to the interview, compared to their counterparts.”
(Kotler, Shalowitz, and Stevens, 2008, pages 94-95).
2. Analyze the competitive environment of the health care provider you selected and recommend a course of action for strategic marketing success. Over the past 20 years, the growth of the U. S. marketplace has gotten Aetna to boost our local presence. Aetna has created and implemented strategies that concentrate on providing our health and related benefits to some of the fastest growing segments in the United States. As part of this marketing strategy, Community Relations and Urban Marketing centers its efforts on grassroots strategies that better speaks the needs of a changing marketplace. Our competency
AETNA: MARKETING SUCCESS IN HEALTH CARE 7 is relationship management. Through the maintenance of strong internal and external relationships, an organization acts as a catalyst for change by making a strong Aetna brand.
Here are some factors Community Relations and Urban Marketing’s areas of focus:
(1) Incremental business growth through national and local relationships
(2) Enterprise consultation to achieve infrastructure needed to effectively target key growth segments
(3) Multilingual & multicultural experience around Aetna’s brand to improve purchase consideration
(4) Volunteerism and employee engagement
(5) Strategic philanthropy to deepen our local market presence and alignment with business objectives Finally, Aetna meets our efforts on grassroots strategies that better serve the needs of a changing marketplace. Aetna plans by supporting community events; working with community leaders and organizations; helping employers managing their changing workforce, and working with brokers and providers to support their business objectives.
3. Determine which tools of the marketing mix available to health care providers would be most effective for the health care provider you selected. The two factors for Aetna would be price and place. Aetna has a pricing new and renewal business for a higher level of utilization in 2012. It expects to add about 300,000 new members and end the year with 18.2 million members. The projected growth will be across its Medicaid,
Medicare, and commercial business lines. Launched in 2012, our Aetna in Touch Care program provides a new option in care management that gives members more personalized care support,
AETNA: MARKETING SUCCESS IN HEALTH CARE 8 programs and tools to engage them early and keep them motivated. We help our members put all of the available tools and information to work for them by creating health care easier to use and understand. By making health care simpler, we help people stay healthier.
4. Determine the best possible pricing strategy for at least one of the products or services offered by the health care provider you selected. Aetna provide members with meaningful information that help them make value-based health care decisions and be responsible health care consumers. In the past decade, Aetna led the way to greater transparency for consumers in health care quality and pricing. This insurance company continues to create new levels of transparency possible through innovation. Our
Member Payment Estimator offers real time, out-of-pocket cost estimates for in-network and out-of-network for more than 550 commonly used, non-emergency health care services. This level provides members a more complete cost picture to better plan for health care services.
Spiraling costs hover the long-term sustainability of our health care system where studies have shown as much as one-third of these costs are the result of waste in the system.
Summary
In conclusion, I pointed out the personal characteristics along with some examples. I recommended a course of action where products are services could be supported by community groups implementing strategies through change. I selected the price and place.
Most consumers today think about cost of health care and places they would be beneficial to them. Finally, consumers should think about health plan that is suitable to their budgetary needs. AETNA: MARKETING SUCCESS IN HEALTH CARE 9 References
Kotler, Philip, Shalowitz, Joel, and Stevens, Robert J., “Strategic Marketing for Health
Care Organizations,” (2008). pages 89-95. Retrieved from www.josseybass.com
Aetna, Inc. (2012). Retrieved from www.aetna.com
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2012/03/junk-health-insurance/index.htm