HORIZON HEALTH NEWS — Josh Robertson

CLIENT: HORIZON BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF NEW JERSEY
MISSION: CHANGE THE PERCEPTION OF AN INSURANCE COMPANY

Insurance companies are in a tight spot. As medical and prescription costs rise, their mission is to keep insurance affordable. Consumers often lash out at their insurance company for problems that are more deeply engrained in the dysfunctional American healthcare system. The nonprofit Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey launched Horizon Health News to speak directly to its subscribers and help them better understand and navigate the often complex healthcare system. Instructions about insurance are easy to find, riddled with fine print, and generally hard to understand — so we turned to storytelling, human interest, and list-style articles to get people’s attention by showing, rather than telling. The articles below, and more, can be found in the archive of Horizon Health News.
PLATFORM: Website. AGENCY: Ketchum.

Just the Facts

As a blog, Horizon Health News can’t give out hardcore medical advice. But general information — stuff a Boy Scout would learn to get his first aid merit badge — is fair game. In educating readers about common situations, we’re also giving them insurance-related advice: Do I need to go to the ER, urgent care, or just wait it out?

Truth and Consequences

Everyone likes a good debunker-style article or list, and with minor ailments, there’s plenty to choose from. While taking on some of the suspect advice you might have gotten from your mother, we’re also able to talk about real causes, and what course of action is required.

News with Real Impact

There’s corporate news, and then there’s news that makes a differnce in the lives of real people. With the Horizon blog, we resolved only to cover Horizon’s own initiatives unless we could show a clear benefit. When Horizon joined the cause of lowering drug prices, we saw a story that people would really care about.

Addressing Healthcare Trends

Data shows that a growing number of Americans are becoming care providers for relatives who are living longer than ever. But who wants data? We looked at the trend and saw an opportunity to provide relevant advice.

Humans of Horizon

Horizon employs over 1,000 nurses in the state of New Jersey, a fact that may surprise some subscribers. And what do these nurses do? We chose to focus on one nurse in particular, telling her unique life story and describing her work for Horizon.

Getting the Right Care

Having insurance doesn’t mean you know what to do with it. And that’s a concern when making the wrong choice can result in a bigger medical bill. With this series of articles, we provided tips to help members make the right choice the first time — so they don’t waste time and money.

Checking the Zeitgeist

Occasionally a medical term or story goes viral — and the Oxford English Dictionary’s “Word of the Year” is usually a good bet. When that word turned out to be the term “brain rot,” there was a unique opportunity to join the conversation with authority.

Philanthropy on a Human Level

When it comes to giving back, corporate communications often speak in sweeping terms about initiatives and number of people helped. Sure, that’s important and sometimes effective. We chose to spotlight a Horizon executive who believes in a cause, one aligned with Horizon’s own commitments to communities.

CLIENT: HORIZON BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF NEW JERSEYMISSION: CHANGE THE PERCEPTION OF AN INSURANCE COMPANY

CLIENT: HORIZON BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF NEW JERSEY
MISSION: CHANGE THE PERCEPTION OF AN INSURANCE COMPANY