How the debate on healing health care might affect you

You’d have to live under a rock to not notice the plethora of coverage about the health care debate, lately. While it’s too soon to tell where the health and medical industries will go under the influence of government—if that influence comes to pass—we can agree that health care in the coming decade will look different than it does now.

Regardless of your political persuasion, whether you think the federal government should be involved in health care or not, this much public relations light, shining on the details of how health care and insurance are run, can only lead to change… whether driven by the public sector, or the private.

My personal suspicion is that all of this talk about the state of health care is making people more conscious of their personal health, and their personal responsibility for staying healthy, and for managing their own care.

Implications: You don’t have to be a doctor to be affected by the health care debate. Of the products or services you sell, what could be positioned as, “health conscious?” (Hint: Chicken soup, fitness clubs, etc.)

In what ways do the products or services you sell contribute to prevention of illness or injury?

In what ways might your products or services be accused of being un-healthy… if scrutinized through the lens of a competitor’s marketing campaign?

An essay today by Phil Lempert, the Supermarket Guru, sheds some light on how hospitals might now be competing with the rapid-clinic down at the local drug store. I suspect a lot of companies will attempt to get into the act of health care, just as many companies took-on an environmental slant as the green movement gained momentum. If you're in health care or insurance already, you may soon face new competitors from outside the category. Or, from within. If you are "outside" the health care category, you might think about ways your company can contribute to a more healthy lifestyle for the consumer.

Do you have a healthy value proposition as these issues come to the forefront of national awareness? If your offer is authentic, you might have some strong opportunities.

Mike Anderson