Healthy Seniors Are HMOs' Prime Target
Medicare HMO advertising targets healthy seniors while ignoring the disabled segment, according to a new report by the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based philanthropy that sponsors healthcare research, and Porter Novelli in New York.
The report faults HMO marketers for focusing on the healthiest seniors in marketing programs and using "inaccurate or misleading promotions" for recruiting beneficiaries. Its HMO survey found that:
- Less than one-third of the 21 promotional seminars surveyed were held in places inaccessible to wheelchairs.
- Fewer than one-third of the newspaper advertising and only five of 27 TV commercials communicated that beneficiaries less than 65 could enroll in the HMOs.
- Eight of the 70 HMO newspaper ads falsely stated that consumers had to be 65 or older to enroll, omitting relavant information that younger beneficiaries with disabilities can be covered.
On another senior front, two top managed care plans have dropped out of the Medicare market in rural towns.
The retreat is most pronounced in markets where there are few clinics and doctors are scarce.
Managed care advocates warn that this trend could lead to low-budget, unmanaged care for highly vulnerable seniors that large commercial HMOs helped prevent.
For instance, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield dropped out of Medicare plans in 19 Ohio counties in May, and California's Health Net announced in June that it would end Medicare services in 10 counties. (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 202/347-5270; Porter Novelli, 212/601-8000)
DTC Outlook Strong
The outlook for DTC advertising couldn't be brighter as consumers are demanding active involvement in healthcare decisions and managed care plans are changing their perception of the prescription process for providers.
Major pharmaceutical companiesspent heavily in the first quarter of 1998, according to Lorraine Pastore, executive VP of Medicus Communications, a New York-based DTC advertising agency. For instance, Glaxo Wellcome spent $53 million on DTC efforts, Merck & Company's spent $31 million and Eli Lilly spent $26 million.
The top 10 prescriptions drugs advertisied in the same period include Pravachol, Claritin, Prilosec, Imitrex, Allegra, Prozac, Premarin, Valtrex, Zocor and Evista.
DTC advertising is most effective for symptomatic conditions, says Pastore.
But the advertising doesn't work if marketers haven't done their homework with physicians and the side effects of the drug are perceived as worse than the disease or condition it treats.
For more DTC coverage, check out "DTC Advertising Exceeds $1 Billion" in this issue. (Medicus Communications, Lorraine Pastore, 212/469-3100)
High Income Disparity Influences Mortality Rates
Death rates are higher in cities with wide gaps between rich and poor, according to a new study by University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor.
The results indicate a need for targeted public health initiatives in such markets.
It is common knowledge that low-income individuals tend have the worse health, this study shows that the way income is shared in a community is a much more important determinant of health and mortality than previously thought.
The report, which surveyed 282 metropolitan markets, found that markets with high rates of income inequality also had a high rate of mortality.
Markets with high mortality rates include Jackson, Miss.; Brownsville, Tex.; Mobile, Ala.; Waco, Tex.; and El Paso, Tex.
By contrast, cities with the lowest death rates include Allentown, Pa.; Milwaukee; Ft. Myers, Fla,; Portland, Maine; and Des Moines, Iowa.. (University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, 734/468-3100)