9 Prebuilt Audiences for Medicare, Medicaid, and Drug Cost Regulation: Reach the Right People with Your Healthcare Advertising

Healthcare advertisers, issue advocates, and political teams are all on the same precipice: Get your message to the people who need to hear it now, or the future of the healthcare industry - and your role in it - tilt in someone else’s favor. 

Elections and open enrollment periods are approaching. You need to reach the right people, right away.

The microtargeting experts and public affairs specialists at Tunnl created nine prebuilt audiences to help you immediately reach the right people on the top issues in healthcare, including: 

• Medicaid expansion
• Changes to the Medicare eligibility age
• Drug cost regulation

These audiences are ready-to-use, issue-based segments curated around the varied opinions on leading issues in healthcare. For each issue, you’ll find an audience in favor of, opposed to, or persuadable on the topic. Access key insights, like where and how these audiences consume media, in the Tunnl platform, and activate them in your campaigns right away to start making a more efficient, targeted impact with your healthcare advertising.

Table of Contents

I. The Current Issues In Healthcare Affecting Insurers, Innovators, And All Americans
II. 9 Prebuilt Audiences to Reach Your Target Audience for Medicare, Medicaid, and Drug Cost Regulation

a. Medicaid Expansion Audiences

b. Changes to the Medicare Eligibility Age Audiences

c. Drug Cost Regulation Audiences

III. How to Reach Your Target Audience for Medicare, Medicaid, and Drug Cost Regulation with Tunnl’s Prebuilt Audiences

IV. Instantly Improve Your Audience Targeting in Healthcare with Tunnl’s Prebuilt Audiences

The Current Issues In Healthcare Affecting Insurers, Innovators, And All Americans

The Medicare Open Enrollment Period kicks off on October 15 and runs through December 7, drawing 65 million Americans to reenroll or apply for federal healthcare coverage for the first time. But this year, a backdrop of new public policy and ongoing political strife color an uncertain future - for better or worse - for Medicare and Medicaid.

Healthcare accessibility and drug costs are center stage. 

The federal government has begun negotiating the costs of several common prescription drugs that account for millions of dollars in annual government healthcare spending. Pharmaceutical companies are pushing back against the government’s ability to negotiate prices, hoping to sustain the funding necessary to innovate new treatments and draw a line in the sand on further government intervention. For now, 10 drugs are the subject of price negotiations, with still more outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Though Medicare recipients will not see these negotiated prices until 2026, price negotiations and other prescription drug provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act are changing the national discourse on healthcare right now, especially in light of the upcoming elections.

Healthcare spending fits into the wider narrative of economic responsibility that’s influencing consumers’ actions and voters’ opinions. Who has access to federal coverage through Medicaid and Medicare has been debated for several years, along with what these government healthcare plans can or should cover using taxpayer dollars. 

More than 45% of Americans report that it’s difficult to afford healthcare and over 40% have medical debt, according to KFF, making healthcare a leading issue for voters nationwide. However, access to affordable healthcare varies on a state level. While most states and the District of Columbia have expanded access to Medicaid for low-income residents, there are still a few hold-out states that have declined federal funds to expand their Medicaid programs. 

Medicaid continuous enrollment, a provision that was enacted within the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) to ensure sustained medical coverage for families during the COVID-19 pandemic, was also rolled back on March 31 of this year. This change could leave an estimated 15 million or more Americans without Medicaid coverage, though it’s unclear how many of those people would meet re-enrollment criteria or be supported by other issuance options.

Accessibility and affordability remain at odds for seniors and Americans with disabilities as well. 

Whether or not to lower the eligibility age for Medicare coverage, for instance, has been contested, with advocates and opponents arguing the need for accessible healthcare for uninsured seniors and people with disabilities against the increased pressure on government spending that would be incurred should the Medicare eligibility age be decreased from 65 to 60. 

There’s much at stake in the healthcare industry at the moment.

Integral relationships between drug companies, our governments, healthcare providers, and Medicare and Medicaid recipients are shifting. But there’s still time to dictate the direction of the healthcare industry and government healthcare system. Advocates have opportunities to reach voters and policy influencers with timely messages about how to alter, mend, expand, regulate, and navigate changes in coverage throughout their states and the country at large.

There’s urgency - and strong opinions - around these healthcare issues. You can immediately reach opinionated, motivated groups who are ready to influence elections, vote with their wallets, and capitalize on your services when you use these nine prebuilt healthcare audiences from Tunnl.

9 Prebuilt Audiences to Reach Your Target Audience for Medicare, Medicaid, and Drug Cost Regulation

You need to reach the right people who align with your healthcare objectives, whether winning over persuadable voters to act in favor of Medicaid expansion in your state or educating taxpayers on the costs associated with lowering the Medicare age. 

To help you reach healthcare target audiences accurately, effectively, and with maximum efficiency, Tunnl created nine prebuilt audiences you can use right now.

Target Audiences for Medicaid Expansion

Medicaid expansion has been an ongoing legislative effort to make affordable healthcare accessible to more of America’s low-income population. However, not all states are on board with expanding Medicaid coverage. 

Tunnl’s prebuilt pro, anti, and persuadable audiences on Medicaid expansion can help you reach people nationwide to influence policy decisions, promote your services to new Medicaid recipients, or raise awareness about enrollment. 

Tunnl Tip: Want to reach people in the states where Medicaid expansion has not been adopted? Use Tunnl's Audience Builder to hone in on a local slice of these prebuilt Medicaid audiences and identify people within a certain geographic radius for your campaigns.

Target Audiences for Medicare Eligibility Age

The Medicare eligibility age has been the same since 1965, but that may change. While some lawmakers propose lowering the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 60 to mitigate the number of uninsured seniors, others feel the age for Medicare eligibility age should be increased to 67 to align with Social Security eligibility. 

You can reach people across the opinion spectrum on this issue with Tunnl’s Medicare age audiences.

Tunnl Tip: You can target people who are pro, anti, or persuadable on changes to the Medicare eligibility age who are also nearing 60 or 65 using the Tunnl's Audience Builder. Simply set your desired age range in the custom demographic section to hone in on the age group you’re interested in reaching with your campaigns.

Target Audiences for Drug Cost Regulation

Prescription drug prices are among the cost-prohibitive elements preventing many Americans from accessing the coverage they need. They’re also a leading stressor on government healthcare spending. 

As drug cost negotiations kick off under the Inflation Reduction Act, more discussions about reducing consumer costs and government healthcare spending continue to dominate attention nationwide.