Despite a 16-year track record of providing long-term care for seniors who want to remain independent, the future of social HMOs was uncertain last year. Congress had to be
convinced to extend the program before voting on making them a permanent Medicare option this year.
To get the attention of Washington, D.C., public policy think tanks and the general public, SCAN, one of the county's four social HMOs, collaborated on a news magazine-style
show that focused on the need for reevaluating long-term care. The video, "America in Crisis: The Long-Term Care Dilemma," was produced by TVA Productions, an independent business
television and video production firm in Studio City, Calif.
The documercial, aired in November, demonstrated that legislative heavy hitters like former Health Care Financing Administration administrator Bruce Vladek and Sen. Jay
Rockefeller (D-WV) understood the effectiveness of social HMOs like SCAN. It also helped to fuel national awareness of social HMOs, which had previously enjoyed regional
recognition in the pockets of the country where seniors had access to them like Southern California, Las Vegas and Brooklyn, N.Y.
In November, President Clinton signed the Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999, which included language that extended the social HMO program through 2001. This legislative
green light was a major coup for SCAN, which worked behind the scenes to escalate the level of debate over how the government could improve long-term care.
Promoting the Issue
Although Business World News is a sponsored program, TVA Productions is quick to clarify in its marketing literature that it is not an infomercial. The key distinction is TVA's
editorial control and it's focus on promoting issues not companies. The production company pays all of the program's production costs and uses an executive selection committee
composed of writers, producers, directors, editors and PR execs to select the issues the program spotlights. Companies profiled in the programs pay a broadcast sponsorship and
corporate licensing fee, that can range from $10,000 to $125,000.
In SCAN's case, TVA spotlighted the legislative debate surrounding long-term care and the newsworthiness of social HMO benefits. "The biggest question for us was why there are
only a certain number of seniors who have access to these [social HMO] programs," says Geno Brunto, who produced the video. After researching the salient issues that shape long-
term care for two months, TVA producers realized that they needed to devote more time to the topic than the typical five-minute program time. For the first time, producers
developed a 30-minute video that explored:
- the inadequacies of Medicaid and Medicare in caring for seniors;
- the market demand for seniors to remain as independent as possible;
- the need for overhauled legislation that better meets the healthcare demands of a growing senior population; and
- the favorable experiences of seniors who are members of social HMOs.
New Branding Attitude
The video helped put SCAN on the national healthcare map, positioning it as a viable, innovative option for providing seniors with a continuum of care that stresses
independence, says Sam Ervin, SCAN's president. It also reflected its new branding focus adopted over the last 18 months to create national demand for social HMOs. Previously SCAN
focused its PR efforts on targeting research-oriented healthcare journals. While those strategies helped to build awareness among professional associations, they didn't do enough
to promote the health plan among the general public and legislative decision-makers, says Ervin.
The show targeted educated adults ages 25-54 and aired on CNBC and six CBS affiliates, including Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and New York in
November.
In carving out a national presence for itself SCAN has to tread carefully. As far as managed care plans go, SCAN is a relatively small player with barely 40,000 members.
Because of the membership restrictions placed on it by Congress, it can't get much bigger until more permanent social HMO legislation is voted on. (This year, HCFA is expected to
submit a report to Congress on how to make the social HMO program permanent.)
(TVA Productions, Geno Brunto, Jeff Goddard, 818/505-8300; SCAN, Sam Ervin, 562/989-5116)
Social HMOs Defined
Congress established the social HMO (S/HMO) demonstration authority in 1984 to determine whether investing in long-term care benefits for Medicare HMO enrollees could save
money by coordinating care. S/HMOs provide standard HMO benefits as well as services like personal care aids, homemakers, transportation, respite care and case management.
Business World News
Coverage: BWN covers companies in two ways: as an industry expert or as a company spotlight. Companies can nominate themselves to be profiled for the spotlights, which is
subject to the approval of the executive selection committee.
Costs: TVA covers all of the production costs, including the shooting, editing and graphics. Companies pay a broadcast and corporate licensing fee only, which can range from
$15,000 to $125,000 depending on packaging options.
Web site: http://www.tvaproductions.com