Consumer Engagement In Personal Healthcare Finance Dropped In 2008

According to Forrester's North American Technographics® Healthcare Online Survey, Q2 2008, 39% of non-elderly commercially insured adults in the US now own a health spending account. This document profiles these consumers by account type and uncovers what sets them apart from the rest of US online adults and the commercially insured. While in general, account owners are wealthier, slightly younger, and more engaged in their health-related finances, overall engagement declined in 2008, and that's a bad sign for health marketers. Direct-to-consumer communication is still a brave new world for healthcare marketers as they try to overcome hurdles like consumer apathy about health, distrust in insurers and pharmaceutical firms, and generally low levels of health literacy. To address this dilemma head on, health marketers need to develop an enterprisewide customer contact strategy.