With our president apologizing for lots of issues, and his opposition already using health insurance reform as a lever to move the electorate, more misinformation than ever is flying around our collective consciousness. And, like it or not, those of us in the HR business are on the front lines of this war.
I think we all thought things would be settling down a little by now. We thought that large employers would have fairly little to pay attention to as the PPACA was launched, as the main focus was on getting the uninsured to get coverage. However, it turns out employers do need to pay attention to the exchanges because even if their employees don't use them, the functioning of the exchanges depends on some critical interactions among exchanges, employers and their employees.
So employers are starting to realize that they really do need a communications strategy for how to tackle exchange education with their employees. Consider the audience. Many of our employees are willing to pay a tax service to fill out a one-page 1040EZ. Do you really think that mailing a four-page required notification form to all employees and calling it a day will work? Feh.
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In reality, employees are going to have questions — lots of them. Many of the questions will regard branches of their family tree that are not covered in your plan. Some may have been following the discussion, and some have just started now, thanks to the major wackiness about software failures and cancelled polices. Everyone out there is seeing TV ads, print ads, (yes, some people still read newspapers) and media coverage on the exchange launch. As someone who understands the bigger picture, it frustrates me that many of these messages are fragmented and often don't mention anything at all about the individual mandate and how the exchanges are to fulfill the mandate.
For extra credit, if a family member actually finds a navigator or certified application counselor, these freshly minted professionals will be emphasizing the exchanges and the individual mandate, but won't know much about employer-sponsored plans in general, let alone each individual's circumstances regarding employer-sponsored coverage. Yikes. That will trigger more work for us, of course.
Combine that with what we're fed by the political entertainment channels and we have even more communication fires to put out. I was just quoted in the local newspaper that I felt the PPACA would still be in effect in three years, and the firestorm of comments from the reading public was predictable. I'm not politically aligned with anything, just a benefits pragmatist. Nowadays, that's a dangerous spot to be.
So, what to do? Simple. Take action now to devise a communications strategy aimed at your employees and which fits within your company culture. Use channels that they will actually read and understand. Unless you are fully staffed with older boomers, step away from the emails and posted memo channels, and get creative.
Get face-to-face. Get on Twitter. Get on the phone, even to the point of possibly hiring a call center to do outbound calling. Get on video, and create short videos and animated shorts about the concept.
What you do, just get outside the box and get going.
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