Humana's Bizarre "Grassroots" Healthcare-Reform Campaign

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  Dmitriy Kruglyak06/07/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Responding to This Post's Assertions

  David,
  
  I was hoping you would post an update from my email, sent just an hour after your post went up...
  
  Yes, I am being compensated by Humana as a typical freelance writer and part-time community moderator would expect.
  
  CN4H is "very impressive" to me because this is the first genuine attempt by a health insurer to open up for direct dialog with the public. Humana is breaking new ground by welcoming whatever input comes along. This is in stark difference to how most other insurers communicate - by simply disseminating press releases.
  
  As to your specific points about the state of health insurance markets, I cannot represent official Humana's views but can say that CN4H is an acknowledgement of the need for real reform that would address public's needs. Which explains the open format.
  
  Finally, this is still a continuous learning experience - both in terms of how insurers communicate with the public and in finding / promoting the ideas for fixing the US healthcare system.
  
  Thanks,
  Dmitriy

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  David P Hamilton06/09/08 Report as spam
  2

  RE: Responding to this post's assertions

  Dmitriy: Thanks for your reply, and sorry for not updating sooner; some unexpected obligations came up on Friday, and I haven't had a chance to tend the blog until today.
  
  Anyway, I appreciate your feedback. I'm a little less sanguine about Humana's intentions here because I don't see how all this community input really gets taken aboard in a corporate sense. McCallister has made pretty clear how he thinks healthcare reform needs to proceed, and in most ways it's about as self-interested an approach as you can imagine. He doesn't, for instance, even address the things that make most people angriest about insurers, which are rising costs and screwed-up claims processing and/or claims denials. (As more people end up in the individual market, I suspect we'll see medical underwriting added to the list.)
  
  So I'm all for insurer efforts to get ahead of the reform wave, but nothing I've seen here suggests that Humana is involved in much beyond a PR exercise.

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  Dmitriy Kruglyak06/09/08 Report as spam
  3

  Let's give it some time...

  David: I hear what your concerns are.
  
  With that said, I suggest we allow some time to see how CN4H develops. Obviously expecting Humana to reinvent their entire business in an instant is a bit of stretch. But you can be certain they feel the pressure from the public around costs, claims and denials. They understand that it would be smarter business to figure out how to fix the system from inside rather than be forced by regulatory edicts.
  
  Right now CN4H is just about opening the lines of communication, and you can call it a PR exercise if you like. But as the results are processed, expect Humana to gradually take action.