Health Insurance Companies Prepare for New Rules with Research

Starting today, the first changes of the health care bill go into effect.  According to an article in the New York Times, health insurance companies are working to get ahead by training employees to build better relationships with customers and researching and improving on technology to build better relationships with doctors and hospitals (Insurers Scramble to Comply With New Rules, by Reed Abelson).

“Under the new law, insurers that offer child-only policies must start covering all children, even the seriously ill, beginning on Thursday. Insurers must also begin offering free preventive services, and for the first time, their premiums must start passing muster with federal and state regulators by the end of the year” (Abelson).

According to Abelson, Blue Shield of California trained its employees about the impact the bill will have on them and on how to speak with customers by providing them with information to ensure they are helpful and answer customer inquiries correctly.  In addition, Blue Shield is reprogramming computer systems and establishing costs of new policies. 

All of these actions will improve relationships with customers, but the bigger problem will be improving upon the cost and quality of care by working with doctors and hospitals, which Blue Shield is planning to address by researching new ways to pay doctors and hospitals and upgrading its technology systems (Abelson).

“The challenge for the industry as a whole will be to demonstrate an ability to oversee patient care and work closely with hospitals and doctors to find ways to improve the quality of care while trying to contain costs. To that end, insurers are making big investments in technology systems and new areas of expertise” (Abelson).

Although over the years insurance companies and the U.S. health care system in general have had a bad reputation, it seems that companies like Blue Shield are trying to improve upon their relationships with customers, doctors and hospitals, which is the basis of public relations.  They’re using research and experimentation to determine the best changes they can make to comply with the new bill and improve quality of care.  It may take awhile to get things right and some companies may stumble along the way, but they’re headed in the right direction.