New research published in the open-access journal PLOS Global Public Health reveals the private health industry using tactics similar to Big Tobacco and unhealthy commodity industries to shape public perception of US universal health care policies as negative.
The research was led by Kendra Chow from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The authors include Dr Nason Maani, Deputy Director of Local Health and Global Profits and Lecturer in Inequalities and Global Health Policy at the University of Edinburgh’s Global Health Policy Unit.
Commercial interest in US health system
The United States remains the only high-income country in the world that does not provide universal health insurance coverage to its citizens. Approximately 31.6 million Americans are uninsured and 40 million do not have adequate insurance coverage.
The for-profit private health insurance market in the United States generates approximately $670 billion revenue annually. The Partnership for America’s Health Care Future (PAHCF) is a multi-million-dollar coalition representing US health insurers, hospital groups and other healthcare companies.
The activities of private health care companies are consistent with the characteristics of the commercial determinants of health (CDOH), defined as “the systems, practices, and pathways through which commercial actors drive health and equity”.
Meta advertising campaign
The research analysed an advertising campaign by PAHCF during 2018-2021. The campaign included 1,675 advertisements with a value of up to $1.17M. Research revealed targeted advertising designed to generate the narrative that proposed universal health care policies in the USA will be detrimental to public health, the economy, and society.
Common claims found in the Meta advertisements included that universal health care policies would increase the cost, quality and access to health services.
Lessons for UK public health professionals
These targeted advertising tactics are being used to protect commercial profits to the detriment of public health.
In the UK, public health professionals and decision-makers are encouraged to develop a clear understanding of the commercial determinants of health and the tactics employed by commercial organisations, particularly in the use of new technologies.
Further research by LHGP and other research groups and policy initiatives will help to generate more data, analysis and measurement on how commercial determinants are linked to health outcomes, and inform development of comprehensive policy interventions.
The authors noted:
With the new budget bill that has just been passed in the US, close to 12 million Americans could lose their access to healthcare. Campaigns like Partnership for America’s Healthcare Future that use Meta’s advertising tools to target people and affect their voting behaviours around policy reforms like Medicaid are extremely important to pay attention to.
They added:
With Meta rolling back its fact-checking policies in the US earlier this year, along with the continued lack of transparency around political ad targeting, their platforms offer health-harming industries large-scale opportunities engage in tactics that protect their profits at the expense of public health. And by not regulating content on their platforms, while collecting huge amounts in ad revenue, Meta is also engaging with the same style of tactics.
Read the research paper at https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0003244
