Before the namesake of ObamaCare was in the U.S. Senate, I completed an undergraduate certificate program in Health Policy, primarily to stay on the family payroll for an extra semester.  Last week, those extra credits foolishly prompted me to volunteer this entry on what communicators should know and do about the reform bill.  Fortunately, our sister program serving benefits executives has produced a tidy 6-page summary of key provisions, but it may be more fortunate that they have us, as their recent online survey revealed communications about the bill as their most immediate concern.

Here are the most important things for corporate communicators to know right now about the health care reform bill:

1. There are hundreds of different provisions affecting employers
2. Many of them will be phased in over time
3. Some of them won’t start for eight years
4. Effects depend on the states you operate in…
5. …and the demographics of your workforce
6. Several provisions still require more clear interpretation
7. A lot depends on what your insurance provider does
8. They don’t know either

In other words, the level of uncertainty remains extremely high.  But fundamentally, the bill centers on A) a mandate that all individuals have health insurance (and all employers with more than 50 workers offer health insurance or face penalties) and B) the creation of state-run exchanges—a competitive marketplace of insurance plans—supported by subsidies for some participants to increase access to coverage.  In fact, this expansion of the individual and small business market is occupying most of coverage providers’ attention right now.

Large employers are most impacted by numerous other requirements that increase minimum coverage standards, which may in turn result in higher insurance costs being passed through to corporations and ultimately employees.  Examples include no cost-sharing for basic preventative care (begins 2011 for new plans and 2018 for existing ones) and dependent coverage through age 26 (2010).  For communicators who support open-enrollment, an additional key provision requires employers to automatically opt-in all eligible employees (2014).

That doesn’t seem like anything immediately alarming, but at least a dozen corporations grabbed headlines last week with SEC filings (which employees read as well) announcing bill-related charges in the next quarter of up to US$1 billion.  It’s important to know that those charges relate only to the removal of an unusual double tax exception for retiree prescription drug benefits, and the staggering sums are the result of accounting rules that require public companies to report the present value of cash costs extending over the life of the bill. (A Credit Suisse analysis suggests only 20 companies would incur charges of more than $5 million per year.)

Verizon went notably further in its communications by sending employees and retirees a memo warning of possible cost increases and coverage changes.  But others have in turn suggested that all communications from companies thus far have been intended to influence the politics of ongoing reform, and indeed the House Oversight Committee has invited CEOs of many large companies to testify about discrepancies between public filings and CBO estimates.

So, while there may not be many specifics to convey, all this confusion likely warrants a response.  Jennifer Benz, CEO of Benz Communications, offers a sound sample memo that rightly acknowledges the uncertainty and complexity, describes the company’s assessment process, and reaffirms commitment to the organization’s benefits principles.

But I think savvy communicators should go further by viewing their initial communications as the opening phase of a campaign to ensure that their company is the source employees trust for information about their health benefits.  As our sister program serving finance executives observes in a new brief, employee contributions may increase or your organization may decide to exit major elements of the benefits business altogether, but the more employees trust your company’s decisions, the easier any changes will be.

These early actions for communicators will help build trust on this issue:

1. Double down on empathy and transparency in immediate communications
2. Provide access to clear, non-partisan summaries of the legislation
3. Train benefits managers to handle the current uncertainty with employees who will undoubtedly contact them
4. Invite such dialogue online or in other forums
5. At minimum, educate managers about where to direct inquiring employees
6. Work with your benefits team to create a timeline of possible effects so that the appropriate level of communication is baked in to how consequences unfold
7. Begin early communications around a more certain provision such as the automatic opt-in provision to build credibility
8. Attend to both traditional formats like a memo and emerging social networks from which people get coverage advice

I’m hoping you can share your early thoughts and plans below.

Update (4/7): Here’s a new blog post by the MLC, our sister organization, on how Marketing can start managing the consumer implications of reform.