Last month, I was out on leave for a couple of weeks after reconstructive knee surgery. Since I was largely on bed rest, I was not able to drive, do chores or take care of my two little boys. I had some time on my hands for the first time in a long time, and filled it with some unexpected insights.
I’d like to say I started writing the next Great American Novel, or at least balanced my checkbooks. What I really did was watch a lot of TV. Amid the unrelenting onslaught of political commercials, I noticed an uptick in ads from health care providers and insurance carriers. From Allison Janney’s plugs for Kaiser Permanente to Cigna’s “Go You!” campaign celebrating individuality (a foreshadowing of individual coverage purchased on exchanges?), it’s refreshing to see a move toward a more mainstream, open-market approach to health care consumerism. Not long ago I was at an industry conference listening to a speaker complain that health insurers don’t have much need to advertise. Unlike, say, the car insurance industry.
