With the Affordable Care Act, more Americans will now receive health insurance. However, as the mandate still leaves health insurance companies intact, they are free to market their services to a whole new demographic of people who previously could not afford access. In 2011, this number was 48.6 million people or 15.7% of the population (Census.gov). Health insurance companies who are able to successfully market to this demographic stand to see their profits skyrocket. One of the best options for marketing to the newly insured will come from mailing list companies who can target seniors over sixty-five, people turning sixty-five, young adults, families and other groups with high rates of lacking insurance.
Near-Seniors Represent Large Uninsured Population
In 2012, a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that over 40% of “near-senior” adults who were uninsured had medical needs that were unmet or necessary care they were delaying. These findings were based on research done on the 2010 Tracking Household Survey and prior surveys by the Center for Studying Health System Change (Lubrell, 2012). With the Affordable Care Act expanding the options for coverage to not just the uninsured, but those 40% who had trouble getting the care they needed, insurance companies would do well to market their services to them.
Children Uninsured
Of course, senior citizens and those who are soon to be senior citizens are not the only opportunity for insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act. Since 2000, the population of uninsured Americans who are not senior citizens has continued to grow. In the years from 1994 to 2005, the number increased from 15.2% to 17.2% (Web.Archive.gov). These numbers include the roughly 10% of children under the age of eighteen who are uninsured according to the Census Bureau. This represents another great opportunity for insurance companies to enroll new customers with the Affordable Care Act in place.
Young Adults Make Up Highest Population of Uninsured
The largest demographic of uninsured Americans, however, is young adults, who are also the fastest growing group of uninsured. That’s because so many get dropped from their parent’s health insurance or those of public programs when they turn nineteen, while still others lose their health insurance coverage when they graduate from college. In the past, most young adults lacked the stable employment that provided ongoing health insurance.
Consumer mailing lists are utilized by thousands of companies in America to target potential customers, often times ones that meet certain criteria. As such, this form of marketing provides a huge opportunity to health insurance companies looking to spread their customer base under the Affordable Care Act. With consumer mailing lists, health insurance companies will be able to specifically target those formerly uninsured Americans and do so by the demographic they fit into. By doing this, health insurance companies can market certain packages to the groups of people who would most benefit from them and thus be most likely to purchase them. Under the Affordable Care Act, nearly fifty million Americans will be purchasing health insurance. Providers who use regularly updated mailing lists stand the best chance of getting their business.