General Business Issues

Health Plans Target Hispanic, Latino Communities Via the Internet

Reprinted from HEALTH PLAN WEEK (formerly Managed Care Week), the industry's leading source of business, financial and regulatory news of health plans, PPOs and POS plans.

As the number of Spanish speakers in the U.S. continues to climb, many health insurers are adjusting their Web sites to better reach the Hispanic and Latino populations. And at least one health plan says it provides targeted information on its Spanish-language site, in an effort to focus on health issues more common in this population.

The number of people speaking Spanish at home in the U.S. has increased from 30.5 million in 2004 to 34.0 million in 2006, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. And health insurers are taking note of the increase.

Blue Cross of California (BCC), a WellPoint, Inc. subsidiary, says it offers a portal called Nuestro Bien that provides information designed specifically for Hispanics and Latinos. Information on the site addresses health issues that affect the Latino and Hispanic communities to a greater extent than other groups, including such conditions as diabetes, hypertension and childhood obesity, says Sherry Jansen, individual product innovation director at WellPoint.

Nuestro Bien has more than 600 articles available in both Spanish and English. Jansen says that the plan is trying to drive Spanish speakers to Nuestro Bien. BCC also has another Spanish-language site available that is strictly a translation from its English-language site.

"The difference between the BCC Spanish site and Nuestro Bien is that we want to become a trusted voice of health information for the Hispanic community" through Nuestro Bien, Jansen says.

Aetna, Inc. unveiled Planifique Para Su Salud, the Spanish version of its Plan For Your Health portal, in September.

Company spokesperson Betsy Sell tells HPW that the portal includes about 80 translated pages of information. Aetna is "undertaking a media campaign focusing on Spanish publications and English publications in predominantly Hispanic areas," Sell says.

The insurer translated the site based on demand, Sell says. "We launched Plans For Your Health" in 2004…and a request we got multiple times was: 'When are you going to translate it into Spanish?' We felt this was a natural extension" of the tool, Sell tells HPW.

Blue Shield of California launched a Spanish site in January, says spokesperson David Seldin. The site is accessible from Blue Shield of California's home page and has information about plans and drug formularies.

Kaiser Permanente offers a Spanish version of its Web site, says spokesperson Farra Levin. "All of our enrollment information is available in Spanish, including forms," she says. In addition, the plan has telephone interpreters who speak 140 languages. The organization also has Spanish facility directories and self-care guides available.

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