Town Halls, Emotions, and Doing Nothing

Well, we've certainly made it interesting again. The health care debate has moved out of the realm of practicality, and right to the emotional. Any discussion or debate about changing the health care system is inevitably going to have some emotional charge to it. But, as we've said in previous posts- the emotions are now driving the decision-making, instead of doing what is right.

So far, over $57 million has been spent on ads both for and against health care reform. As expected, and as good advertising is supposed to do, some of them went right to the gut. And, also as expected, some cross-the-line to achieve what they intend to achieve; to scare the public. The advertising buzz-words of "Death Panel", "Pulling the Plug on Grandma", and "Rationing" have hit the mark with the general public (whether true or not) creating the scenes we've seen at the Town Hall meetings. And, quite honestly, those defending the ideas have not done a very good job in defending them.

The Center for Responsive Politics indicates just 5 health-care related organizations dumped another $8 million into the lobbying effort in 2008 to influence (or nudge) the legislative process. In 2006, the combined spending for health care lobbyists was the largest of any of the industry segments spending almost $200 million. We're sure that's going to double at least for 2009.

The result- We have an angry public, a partisan country, and a health care system that continues to deteriorate financially.

We honestly don't know what is going to happen with reforming our health care system. Public support has deteriorated, the economic outlook (deficit) has not surprisingly deterioriated, and we have a partisan divide in this country that has grown bigger instead of smaller. As we've said in the past, Obama has lost control of the message and the process.

We're hearing from one side that reform may not happen at all. We're hearing from the other side that they may start to use the legacy of Senator Kennedy as the platform to revive the public support for health care reform. We'll know more when Congress returns next week. From what we've seen so far, it's not going to be pretty.

It's pretty obvious that the structure of the current legislation (HR 3200) is not where the country wants to go. But, as we said in our HR 3200 Cheat Sheet, the legislation does address most of the structural challenges facing the health care system today. We're hoping the Senate can come up with some bi-partisan compromise that makes sense and starts to address the challenges facing our system and ultimately the challenges facing our country.

We need a solution that maintains the individual liberties our country is founded on and still protects the economic foundation of the country for all. We're on the wrong trajectory today. Quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing "we have the best health care system in the world and should just leave it alone." We may have the best health care- but we absolutely do not have the best health care system. Doing nothing is really not an option- we've got to strike a balance.

We need to remember (and the real message should be): This isn't about where we are today- this is for our children and our grandchildren- they are the ones that will be really paying the bill.

Let's Not Blow It

Last March we wrote a newsletter outlining 6 things we felt President Obama would need to master in order to move our country toward real health care reform. Back then he was positioned pretty well. He’s gone downhill since then.

We closed the March newsletter with the comment, “He’ll need to execute flawlessly with his team to make it happen, and he’ll need to maintain the public support to come up with a plan that balances our individual freedoms with the social responsibility that is expected in our country today.” He hasn’t delivered on this one.

It’s obvious that Obama’s health care discussion is in shambles. We’ve read the House Bill and can’t agree with it (you can see our summary by clicking here). It was too expensive, complex, and confusing in our view (especially regarding the Public Option). There was a logic behind it that made some sense and there were some ideas included that are worthwhile to explore further in the context of what is needed to fix some of the structural problems existing in the system today.

When we reviewed the language we based our interpretations on our views of the challenges facing our system from our years of working in it. We did not interpret “Death Review Committees” the same as “Comparative Effectiveness Research”. We did not interpret “Encouraging Euthanasia” the same as “Advance Care Planning”. But, it’s obvious that these other interpretations and messages have hit home (despite whether they reflect the intent) and HR 3200 is not the direction the country wants to go).

We’re in the process of reviewing the “most visible” Senate bill (Kennedy Bill) so we’ll post our summary on it when we’re finished.

So, what’s the strategy going to be?

In absence of some Divine Intervention to consolidate whatever comes out of the Senate with the House bill that meets the needs of everyone, we’re going to need to (as much as I hate saying it)- slow down. Politics and the loss of public support have won this round. Ramming through a health care reform package that is not at least perceived as somewhat bi-partisan and is not supported by the American people would be political suicide for those doing or supporting the ramming. We’re certain that taking this kind of action in the hostile environment we have will also minimize the chances of success. We need to succeed on this for our country- the right way.

We need to step back, take a breath, take a look at what we have, and determine where we go from here. While deadlines are good, they shouldn’t be met at the sacrifice of achieving the overall goal. But, we also shouldn’t put this on the back-burner again. The health of our economy is going to depend on this.

The Democratic Party is now in “defense mode” and the Republicans have a wonderful opportunity to present other options. But, I honestly haven’t heard what the Republican solution would be. I’ve heard a lot of talk of MSA’s, tax credits, more competition, free market, etc. being thrown around as components- but these ideas are not going to correct the structural changes that currently exist in the system we have today. If someone has the Republican “plan” out there it needs to be more visible.

It’s already ugly and, unfortunately, will probably get uglier before we’re all done unless something changes. As we had hoped would occur from the beginning, both sides need to reach across the aisle to develop a solution that respects the principles maintained by the other and produces the result that is right for the American people for now and for the future.

We’ll say it again, “He’ll need to execute flawlessly with his team to make it happen, and he’ll need to maintain the public support to come up with a plan that balances our individual freedoms with the social responsibility that is expected in our country today."

Health Care Reform- A Classic Marketing Challenge

Let's say you are in your basic Marketing 101 Course and your instructor gives you the following statistics and scenarios:

1. 70% of the market feels your product (widgets) needs to have a major product overhaul with how it is produced. The market feels that sometimes it's a pain to buy your widget when they need it, it's confusing to use on occasion, and is starting to think your widget costs too much. But, in reality it really doesn't know for sure because in most cases somebody else is paying for it.

2. 80% are generally satisfied with the widget(s) they have purchased or have used over the years.

3. And, you (as the maker of widgets), have more than enough information to acknowledge that the way you produce and deliver your widgets today is not sustainable under your current business model and you know that you are going to have to pass more of the expenses on to your customers (the 80% that is satisfied) in order to survive; the 80% number is going to decline over time.

What do you do?

The items above provide a pretty basic view of what we're dealing with in health care. A new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll of Americans provided the statistics for #1 and #2; we added #3 as a pretty safe assumption.

The "marketing answer" on how to spin your position is going to depend on which side of the debate you are on.

For those who feel the health care debate is a "non-issue" and only requires some minor adjustments, you're strategy is going to be focused on relying on the "80% Satisfied" as your foundation. Why try to reform something that 80% of the market is satisfied with? Why go to all of the expense of revamping when your customers are satisfied. They like the widgets they have. You might try to keep Items #1 and #3 in the background. You'll have to acknowledge they exist to some extent, but most customers like what they have so we won't rock the boat.

For those who feel a total revamp of our system is required, you'll be focusing on Items #1 and #3. You'll have to acknowledge item #2 but the main message is going to point to all of the flaws in the system of today, probably some bad guys to pin it on, and trying to get some of the "80% Satisfied" to move in your direction.

The marketing effort of the health care debate is about to take off. The "Harry and Louise" initiative in the 90's proved that marketing can have a dramatic influence in the public policy debate of health care. And, we've all seen from the political ads of the past how far some are willing to go to get their point across, truthful or not. Whether we acknowledge it or not, the basic consumer still does not fully understand how this system works and is looking for information. The general public will be very vulnerable to the marketing messages that are created over the next few months.

We've got our views on where we think this should end up. But, we've been following it daily and studying and evaluating all of the options on the table. We believe we have come to an "informed conclusion" on health care reform based upon our views of the relevant information and research. We will listen, but won't be as vulnerable to the marketing strategies that are about to be launched from both sides.

Let's hope that the messages that are about to hit the airwaves are informative, truthful, and present all of the facts so individuals can make their own "informed conclusion" on health care reform. We hope the outcome doesn't once again boil down to who has the most money or can scare the audience the best. We hope the messages focus on the real health care issues facing our country to help the market understand and comprehend the realities we're facing.

This is too important an issue to only focus on "spin". We can't forget the substance behind the ideas.