This document discusses how technology can modernize health insurance enrollment and outreach efforts. It outlines how mobile websites, social media, voice/text messaging, and Google apps can be leveraged for enrollment. Low-income groups are fast adopters of mobile internet. Outreach strategies using these new technologies include conveying short program messages on mobile sites, using social networks to spread awareness, and sending personalized text/voice reminders about renewals. When combined with traditional outreach, these new methods can significantly increase enrollment applications as demonstrated by a Michigan campaign that saw a 20% increase through an integrated online and offline strategy.

1. Enrollment Enters the 21st Century
How Technology Is Modernizing
Health Coverage
Phillip J. Bergquist
Michigan Primary Care Association
Health Action 2012

2. Enrollment (Outreach) 3.0
1. Mobile Websites
2. Social Media
3. Voice/Text Messaging
4. Google Apps

3. Mobile Internet Access Background
• Low-income groups in the U.S. are now the fastest
adopters mobile Web devices
▫ 46% of households earning less than $30,000 and
growing
▫ Nearly two-thirds of African-Americans (64%) and
English-speaking Latinos (63%)
▫ 81 minutes was the average daily use of mobile apps in
June 2011, compared to 74 minutes for the Web
▫ Likely to be using mobile internet to access social
media, watch videos, post and shop
http://bit.ly/cCrgAt

4. Mobile Websites for Outreach
• Powerful tool to convey short messages, key
program and enrollment information and offer
families easy ways to get in touch
▫ 1-2 Paragraphs on Medicaid and CHIP Programs
▫ Information Needed for Enrollment / Renewal
▫ Integrated Search Functionality to Find
Enrollment Locations/Staff
▫ Phone, Email and Text Contact Information
http://bit.ly/p1do

5. Mobile Websites in Action

6. Mobile Website Measurability
1.0
2.0
“It doesn't matter how many people visit your site!
What matters is how many of them do what you want them to.” http://bit.ly/aPFjkb

7. Social Media Background
• 132.5 million people in the US will use Facebook
this year; by 2013 the number will increase to
152.1 million
• 176,000,000 US Internet users watched online
video content in May 2011, an average of 15.9
hours per viewer
http://bit.ly/kKPJfT

8. Social Media for Outreach
• Social networks can be powerful vehicles to spread
awareness and create some buzz
▫ Be willing to “let go” of control over the precise
content as long as the message gets delivered
▫ Be prepared for people to edit, amplify and editorialize
▫ Social media is more interactive than broadcast media,
leverage the interaction
▫ Join online communities before you try to create your
own
▫ Not a new way to “reach” people - it is an “attract and
join” space (people actively seek rather than wait)
• Consider an “ad” on Facebook, it’s inexpensive and
highly targetable

9. Social Media In Action
• Utilizing video as part of social media engagement
has been rewarding (and fun)
▫ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michigan-
Primary-Care-Association/49076169627
▫ http://www.youtube.com/user/michiganpca
▫ http://www.youtube.com/user/MIHospitalAssoc

10. Social Media Measurability
http://bit.ly/npV9L5

11. Voice/Text Messaging Background
• A new frontier in delivering messages to our
clients…
▫ Quickly record a message and upload your phone
list or type the message and save
▫ Schedule a time & date for your message to go out
▫ Vendor can place thousands of calls and send texts
to clients at quick speeds
▫ You can even include a transfer option for instant
connections

12. Voice/Text Messaging for Outreach
• Can be used in conjunction (text and voice) or by
themselves for a variety of purposes
• Voice has the added benefit that messages are easily
delivered to both mobile phones and land lines
• Messages have to come from a trusted source and be
delivered to an audience that is interested
• Messages offer the ability to develop a more
personal tone with the convenience of mass delivery

13. Voice/Text Messaging in Action
• Sample Text:
▫ Your child's health insurance expires this month. Text RENEW or
call 268-965-8866 if you need help re-applying. To unsubscribe
text STOP.
• Sample Voice:
▫ HELLO, THIS IS _____ (NAME) FROM _________
(HEALTH CENTER) AND I’M CALLING TODAY TO
REMIND YOU THAT YOUR CHILD’S MEDICAID OR
MICHILD HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE NEEDS TO
BE RENEWED NEXT MONTH. YOU SHOULD WATCH
FOR A PACKAGE FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN
SERVICES CONTAINING IMPORTANT INFORMATION
ABOUT YOUR CHILD’S HEALTH INSURANCE AND A
RENEWAL APPLICATION…

14. Voice/Text Messaging Measurability
• Immediate feedback from both mediums
visually, by text or in Excel

15. Google Background
• Globally Google has between 1 and 1.5 billion
users and a suite of functionalities, apps and
products…
▫ 90% of the search engine market
▫ 500 million people on YouTube monthly
▫ More than 400 million Blogger readers
▫ 200 million Gmail users
▫ Android (The world’s fastest growing smartphone
platform, 350,000 new devices per day)
▫ Chrome (18% of web browsing)

16. Google for Outreach
• We’ve been working with Google products for two
years to improve the effectiveness of our outreach
program…
▫ Google Voice- Gives us flexible phone numbers that
can ring any phone we use plus online voicemail
management and texting
▫ Google Maps- Gives us a powerful tool to map
enrollment services, understand gaps, geographically
trend enrollees and plan outreach
▫ Google Grants- In-kind search/keyword advertising
for nonprofit organizations
• Most products are free, easy-to-use and have 99%
reliability
http://bit.ly/bvD5KJ

17. Putting the Pieces Together
• Technology doesn’t replace “traditional”
outreach, it adds to it and increases effectiveness
▫ Finding ways to boost effectiveness and prove it
will help all of us secure funding in the future
• Multi-modality (more than one method)
enrollment outreach and assistance is the best
way to increase enrollment
• We can’t afford not to test out and hone our
technological skills (we’ve got catching up to
do)!

18. Final Thoughts
• Consider this example…
▫ During August and September of 2011 MPCA
sponsored an enrollment campaign called Enroll
Michigan
▫ The campaign combined traditional strategies (strong
partnerships, school-based direct outreach, hard copy materials
distribution) with mass media (targeted television, radio,
billboard and transit advertising) and new technology
(Facebook, Twitter, Text Messaging, Social Media News Releases and
Viral Video)
▫ In two months we increased applications for Medicaid
and CHIP by 20% statewide!!!

19. Questions? Comments.
Enrollment Enters the 21st
Century: How Technology Is
Modernizing Health Coverage
Phillip J. Bergquist
Michigan Primary Care Association
pbergquist@mpca.net 517.827.0473