| Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) | Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) | Point of Service (POS) | |
| Advantages | 1.It offers provides the subscribers with a provider network that refers a person to the best specialist
2. Premiums are relatively low as compared to other programs. |
1. It also provides users with a network of healthcare providers and specialists.
2. They are relatively flexible compared to HMOs |
1. It provides users with a primary physician who monitors the users’ health and refers him or her to a specialist.
2. It does not have limitations on where to be referred to by the primary physician.it can be inside or outside the network. |
| Disadvantages | 1. It has limited flexibility for services outside the plan.
2. It limits users only to the primary physician for evaluating before referring him to a specialist. |
1. The premiums for are relatively high because of the flexibility offered
2. In case you are treated outside the network, users have to pick up a deductible. |
1. In case of outside treatment, the users are the ones to file the paperwork.
2. The reimbursement in this program is much lower as compared to other programs. |
The media and social networks are responsible for the advertisement and marketing of the health insurance programs. This helps in creating awareness in the public about the insurance programs. On the other hand, the media and social networks are the ones responsible for the attitude the consumers have towards certain health insurance program (Wong, 2015). This is largely reflected in the number of people who are subscribed to the program.
Branding, marketing, and communication are key factors that impact consumer decisions when it comes to the choices made by consumers regarding the insurance program they choose. For instance, branding and marketing help in sensitizing public regarding the importance of being subscribed to an insurance program. But the kind of branding and the aggressiveness of the marketing department determines the number of users who choose a certain program (Kemp, Jillapalli, & Becerra, 2014). The same factors can also lead to a downfall of an insurance program if they are not engineered well to capture the consumers and reflect on the services offered by the program
The different generations have access to a different mode of communication. For instance, the youths in the 21st century spend most of their time online thus making it the best platform for lounge education programs for them. But for the older people, they are not used to the modern technology and therefore the insurance program should choose an approach that is more relevant to them. Using different methods in communicating with the different generations is important as it enables the facilitators to know the technique and language to use thus having maximum impact on the populations.
References
Kemp, E., Jillapalli, R., & Becerra, E. (2014). Healthcare branding: developing emotionally based consumer-brand relationships. Journal of Services Marketing, 28(2), 126-137.
Wong, C. A., Asch, D. A., Vinoya, C. M., Ford, C. A., Baker, T., Town, R., & Merchant, R. M. (2015). Seeing health insurance and HealthCare through the eyes of young adults. Journal of Adolescent Health, 57(2), 137-143.
