Jan 6 2010
Medicare plan HealthSpring today became the first major Medicare
Advantage plan to establish a presence on popular social media site
Facebook.
“I’m certain it will soon
become common practice, and we’re pleased to have been able to work
through the process with CMS to get approval and establish compliance
guidelines for how Facebook can be used.”
“Our research tells us that many Medicare beneficiaries – and even more
of their children or younger individuals soon becoming eligible for
Medicare – use the Internet regularly and are looking to the web for
information about key decisions such as choosing a Medicare plan,”
HealthSpring Vice President of Marketing Mark Tinsey said. “We are
excited to expand our online presence through Facebook and provide
further access to information for prospective members and the general
public.”
HealthSpring said it will use Facebook to establish a branding presence
and provide visitors with basic information about the company. The site
features video clips and photos from the company’s current advertising
campaign and directs visitors to HealthSpring’s website or phone lines
for more information.
Establishing a Facebook presence required approval through the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that
oversees Medicare plans such as HealthSpring, the company said. “We were
surprised to find when we approached CMS about Facebook that no other
plans were trying to do this,” Tinsey said. “I’m certain it will soon
become common practice, and we’re pleased to have been able to work
through the process with CMS to get approval and establish compliance
guidelines for how Facebook can be used.”
“We think it’s important to provide as many ways as possible for the
public to learn about HealthSpring,” Tinsey said. “Particularly as baby
boomers become eligible for Medicare, it just makes sense that Facebook
would be one of those ways.”
http://www.healthspring.com/