S&R Blog

A new report in Adweek tackles the hot topic of healthcare in America and states, “It’s a good thing Americans’ opinions about healthcare aren’t symptoms of an illness. If they were, we’d see a lot of perplexed professionals in white lab coats hovering over the body politic as they tried to wring a diagnosis out of all the mutually contradictory indications.”

The report, by Mark Dolliver, takes an in-depth look at healthcare-reform, consumer opinion, and how marketing may have a key effect on the outcome. Dolliver highlights that,

“The chief obstacle to reform is that large majorities are satisfied with their current care and coverage; most, albeit fewer, also call their costs tolerable. Dissatisfaction with the system overall, and worry about future costs, are countered by broad concerns that change could worsen the quality, choice and coverage most Americans enjoy now.”

Dolliver also notes how marketing has been strategically used to help sway opinions.

“If healthcare reform is funded in part by reductions in the payments the government provides to hospitals for care of people covered by Medicare and other governmental programs, this will put additional pressure on hospitals to bring in privately insured patients who’ll be paying full price. As such, expect to see more hospital advertising aimed at such paying customers.”

Check out Doliver’s full report here.