Interesting article in the New York Times about negotiating prices with health care providers. The Times is right: whether insured or not, consumers can and should negotiate prices.
Right now, dear marketer, there's more fiction in your hospital's charge master than on Amazon.com, more 'wishing and hoping' than at Victoria's Secret. But as an especially astute health care marketer, you can get out in front of this trend and, possibly, make friends with your CFO in the process.
Remember, there are FOUR 'Ps' in marketing, not just 'promotion.' This economy is crying out for you to demonstrate how pricing flexibility can be a route to market share gains.
First, though, you must stop thinking of the uninsured and under-insured as "medically indigent." Think of them as "c-u-s-t-o-m-e-r-s" and figure out lower-cost ways to serve their needs. The ranks of the "permanently medically indigent" are smaller than you think, meaning that the customer you serve at a discount today will remember, be grateful, and come back when times get better for them - leading to more long-term customers and better times for you.
That's my theory and I'm sticking with it. Any takers?
"And keep in mind that doctors, hospitals and medical labs are accustomed to negotiating. After all, they do it all the time with insurers. A hospital may have a dozen or more rates for one procedure, depending on whether Medicare, Medicaid or a private insurer is paying the bill, said Ruth Levin, corporate senior vice president for managed care of Continuum Health Partners, a nonprofit hospital system in New York. Your request for a special arrangement will hardly confound their accounting department."Perhaps. I've seen accountants confounded by matters far less complicated, but let's not get sidetracked here.
Right now, dear marketer, there's more fiction in your hospital's charge master than on Amazon.com, more 'wishing and hoping' than at Victoria's Secret. But as an especially astute health care marketer, you can get out in front of this trend and, possibly, make friends with your CFO in the process.
Remember, there are FOUR 'Ps' in marketing, not just 'promotion.' This economy is crying out for you to demonstrate how pricing flexibility can be a route to market share gains.
First, though, you must stop thinking of the uninsured and under-insured as "medically indigent." Think of them as "c-u-s-t-o-m-e-r-s" and figure out lower-cost ways to serve their needs. The ranks of the "permanently medically indigent" are smaller than you think, meaning that the customer you serve at a discount today will remember, be grateful, and come back when times get better for them - leading to more long-term customers and better times for you.
That's my theory and I'm sticking with it. Any takers?
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