Create a hospital marketing plan that attracts first-time health insurance owners

How to appeal to newly insured ethnic audiences

A recent New York Times analysis found that the Hispanic population and other minorities were significantly affected by the enactment of the Affordable Care Act. The number of Hispanics with health insurance jumped 7.2% in the ACA’s first year. Other racial and ethnic groups have benefited as well, making up two-thirds of the increase in insured adults across the country. With easier access to health insurance and the expansion of Medicaid, more populations are making critical decisions. Meaning there are more people than ever with health insurance and a large amount of these first-timers are non-Caucasian.

If you don’t have a hospital marketing game plan to appeal to newly empowered care consumers, then your organization has fallen behind. It’s time to start marketing your services to appeal to people of all different ethnicities and backgrounds. Here’s how to get started:

Offer ethnicity-specific wellness programs in their languages

Under the ACA, it requires most Americans to have health insurance. It also provides subsidies to those who cannot afford insurance. With population health gaining momentum and an increase in the number of minorities with health insurance, hospitals can’t afford to cater to just one type of customer. They need to start offering ethnicity-specific wellness programs. 

For example, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the two leading causes of death for Hispanics are heart disease and cancer. And, Hispanics are 50% more likely to die from diabetes or liver disease than white Americans.

To appeal to this population offer educational seminars that talk about weight control. Involve a language interpreter for those who feel more comfortable speaking their native language. This option is a low-cost, but effective way to educate the Hispanic community about prevention and it gives your hospital more exposure with this audience.

Identify your native-language speaking doctors

When it comes to finding a new primary care physician, most consumers conduct a blind search. We’ve found that getting your physicians online and in video helps to close the deal. To appeal to ethnic communities, identify doctors who are fluent in multiple languages. Show them talking about themselves and their practice. In their bio pages, include that they speak alternative languages. It’s important to make the entire community feel comfortable at your healthcare organization. Demonstrating that your practice has physicians from all different backgrounds helps achieve this goal. Plus, it gives your doctors more visibility in the marketplace.

Translate your website to the local languages of your ethnic minorities

If you’re concerned about language barriers affecting patient engagement, then consider translating your website. Research the most popular languages in your hospital’s coverage area. Depending on your CMS, there are plugins that make translating possible, and almost seamless. The Google Translate tool also does the trick as well.