Rebranding a Medicare Advantage Plan Starts with Physicians

By working closely with its network physicians who are on the frontlines of demystifying health information for seniors, health insurer Cigna is doing things that could reap the company long-term marketing benefits.

Change is tough for all of us. But when it comes to selling health plans to seniors, even a name change can be a bumpy transition. That's where a health plan's relationships with physicians and providers can pay off.

This week, Cigna is running television advertising spots announcing Cigna-HealthSpring, the new name for its Medicare Advantage plans in 14 states and Washington D.C. The rebranding is a result of Cigna's $3.8 billion acquisition in 2012 of Nashville-based HealthSpring, a Medicare Advantage plan provider.

But the real work of helping current Medicare Advantage plan members transition to using the new name and new logo began months ago, in the doctor's office.

"We spent a lot time prior to the launch with physicians and providers," says Mark Tinsey vice president of marketing for Cigna-HealthSpring. "This population is unique and special and one of those kind of special components is [that they] have a very close relationship with physicians."

By working closely with its network physicians who are on the frontlines of demystifying health information for seniors, Cigna is doing a couple of things that could reap the company long-term marketing benefits.

First, the health insurer is building goodwill among its providers by empowering them to answer questions from patients about the name change. That could lead to physicians viewing the payer more favorably as a partner because Cigna is reinforcing its physician-centered culture.

While there are other, more technical and substantive benchmarks physicians use to judge its relationship with any payer, helping physicians maintain good relationships with their patients is a win-win.

Secondly, in addition to educating members of the rebrand, Cigna is also pushing out consistent messaging to members that even though the name is changing, their doctor and their benefits aren't.

"When you think about our consumer, probably the most important thing that they need to hear is, 'My plan is the same; my doctor is the same; nothing is changing in terms of how I'm receiving my healthcare.' We had to use other contact points that are relevant and appropriate… so when the consumer talked to them, the talking points were lined up and ready to share," says Tinsey. "That gives the consumer the confidence and the comfort."

The message that only the name is changing is used prominently both in the television spots airing now, and on the flyer (PDF) that Cigna's network operations team made available to physicians to display in their offices.

To get physicians ready for the new name and logo, Tinsey says it was a two-phase, two-month process. In March, Cigna-HealthSpring started to educate network operations team on the name and the logo. Over the course of a month, the team, which goes out to educate physicians, put together a presentation for providers, a list of FAQs for physicians' offices, and a flyer that would be left for physicians to have available for patients.

The second phase, which lasted for three to four weeks, included visiting physicians and telling them what would be happening and what types of questions to expect from patients affected by the change.

"We tried to put ourselves in the minds of the customer," explains Tinsey. "[It's] for the physician and the physicians' staff to make sure they all felt properly prepared."

Tinsey says other key stakeholders were the sales force and brokers. They got an equal amount of attention to make sure that they were comfortable and confident in explaining the transition and name change to potential clients.

Frequent contact with physicians allows Cigna to track how the name and logo are being perceived, too, though he is confident both are being received well, based on feedback from the focus groups it conducted before choosing a name.

"If people were aware of the name Cigna, it [the brand name] scored very high. If people were not aware of either Cigna or HealthSpring, then the name HealthSpring, scored really well. So we really felt by bringing together the names, we had a great one-two punch… names that if you're aware of them, they're powerful, and if you're not aware of them, then the name Healthspring can really resonate," he says.

The new logo uses Cigna's imagery of the tree of life as well as the company's blue and orange colors. While it does entirely replace HealthSpring's logo, it won't be a huge change because the HealthSpring logo was also an illustration of a tree that isn't too dissimilar from Cigna's.

The name change is going to be a little harder for Bravo Health customers in Philadelphia. Bravo Health was bought by HealthSpring prior to the sale to Cigna. When HealthSpring bought Bravo Health, the name stayed the same, so it will be the first time for customers in the Bravo market to hear or read the name HealthSpring, but not Cigna, as Tinsey points out.

"Bravo Health had a good strong brand in Philadelphia, where Cigna is also well known and well-regarded," he says. "That's one of the reasons we felt good about the transition."

Tinsey says Cigna-HealthSpring is running two TV spots in the Bravo market to help get consumers and members familiar with the name and logo. Both are sixty-second spots; both convey a call to action to contact the company for more information. It's meant to be a lead generator for the Cigna-HealthSpring sales force, especially on the ramp up to open enrollment this fall.

In addition to the traditional television and monthly newsletter to its members, Graham Harrison, director of communications for Cigna-HealthSpring, says the company will be keeping track of consumer and member engagement via social media.

"Facebook is the channel we will focus our efforts on," she says. "We know that seniors are on Facebook; it's definitely the channel we're relying on most."

Tinsey says he anticipates doing another survey of brand awareness and brand acceptance for the new name in about six months.

"I want to get through the annual enrollment period," he says. "When that dust settles, that will give us another opportunity to measure how well the brand did."