WHY WAS IT A SMART Management MOVE?

There are several reasons that this commitment and plan provided a smart management move on the part of the organization.

One of the first things the HMO did once the plan was announced was to begin challenging other health care foundations and organizations to provide similar services to their communities. Kaiser is large enough that it can provide a $100 million plan to the public however, many of its competitors cannot which provided the opportunity for Kaiser to appear to be more generous and community minded than its competitors as they failed to meet the challenge (Announced, 1997).

The HMO was able to parlay the move into a public relations gold mine with many speeches and announcements surrounding the announcement to move forward with the plan.

California needs a healthy, productive, well-educated workforce for the 21st century, but millions of children and youth are at a disadvantage because they aren't getting proper health care," said Dr. Lawrence. "President Clinton has called for action on the issue, and as the state's largest not-for-profit health care organization, Kaiser Permanente is stepping up to make the first move," he said (Announced, 1997). "

The above statement provided an understanding to the public that Kaiser is willing to do its part to protect the future leaders of the nation by providing health care to the children of today for the future of tomorrow.

The second benefit to Kaiser through this management decision is the ripple effect it had. During the campaign, recruitment and outreach to sign children to the plan there was a lot of publicity in the schools, the streets and other areas of common societal interest. This meant that people who had not been exposed to Kaiser or had only heard negative things about the HMO were given the opportunity through assisting in the outreach efforts to become familiar with the program and its offerings to its patients. In the long run the program most likely created a new base of paying customers as well because those who helped with the outreach or were impressed with the efforts made by Kaiser checked the program...

It also provided a very real and valuable service to the community that it served which in turn gave its public image a much needed boost. In addition to the public image and the change in the perception of the organization that this plan created the underlying fact remains that it gave 50,000 children health care that they otherwise may not have had access to.
As their family situations improved and as they themselves grow up they will remember where they received their health care in a time of need and loyalty and habit will encourage them to sign onto Kaiser when they are in a place to afford coverage.

CONCLUSION

Health care concerns have become a serious concern for the American public. Costs are skyrocketing at the same time that companies nationwide are scaling back the coverage the offer and how many employees they offer it to. The management decision by Kaiser to provide 50,000 children with free health care over a five-year period was a solid management move to boost the public image of the organization while at the same time providing a valuable community service.

The pubic awareness, the opportunity to interact with society, the public announcements, support from politicians and other perks that the decision provided made it one of the best management decisions Kaiser has made in recent history.

References

____(1996) COMMUNITY HEALTH PLAN AFFILIATES WITH KAISER PERMANENTE TO CREATE NORTHEAST AREA'S PREMIER HEALTH PLAN

PR Newswire

____(1997) Kaiser Permanente Commits $100 Million to Provide Health Coverage to Uninsured Children in California From: PR Newswire

____(2005) Kaiser Permanente Earns Top Ranking in California

Business Wire;

____(2004) Kaiser Permanente Health Care for Medicare, Medicaid

PR Newswire

Orlov, Rick (1997) CLINTON CHEERS KAISER FOR OFFER TO INSURE KIDS.(News)

Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)