Case Study: Covering New Hampshire
Scope: In the fall of 2013, Covering New Hampshire launched its informational website and began an outreach and marketing campaign with two goals: to provide New Hampshire’s uninsured residents with information about their health insurance options and the subsidies available through the Health Insurance Marketplace; and to help the state reach its federally- set enrollment goals of 19,000 newly insured residents by the end of the Marketplace’s open enrollment period. When the extended open enrollment period ended on April 15, New Hampshire had more than doubled its goal, enrolling 40,262 people in a new health care plan.
The CoveringNewHampshire.gov website launched on Dec. 24, 2013, and targeted digital ads were placed to drive Internet users to the site. Direct mail was sent to those identified as likely to qualify for subsidies and in January and February of 2014, radio and television ads ran.
During the open enrollment period, Louis Karno produced a series of video and written testimonials, drawing from the pool of New Hampshire residents who signed up for a Marketplace plan during the first months of the Healthcare.gov rollout.
Videos were uploaded to YouTube and Facebook, and were featured on the Covering New Hampshire website. Letters detailing the affordable rates these residents locked in through the Marketplace were sent to newspapers across the state.
Through direct mail, the website, social media and paid media, Covering New Hampshire estimates it reached 80,000 people during its nearly four month period of outreach.
Results exceed expectations.
The Covering New Hampshire outreach effort was a success not only because of the enrollment numbers, but because it was effective in educating residents about their options.
Michael Degnan, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Health Plan, credited Covering New Hampshire’s constant presence in the media, online and through direct outreach efforts, with building the momentum that encouraged those residents who waited until the last minute to sign up for a plan.