Giving the gift of health

Blue Ocean Strategy Articles : Giving the gift of health

With the holiday retail season in full swing in many parts of the world, you might be wondering what to give that special loved one of yours. It’s hard to argue that being healthy is one of the best gifts, and now, thanks to Visa’s Blue Ocean-like thinking that is targeting alternatives over competitors and non-customers over customers, it seems possible to finally give the gift of health—through its prepaid healthcare giftcards.

Dominic Basulto over at the Endless Innovation blog writes:

With healthcare costs continuing to soar across America and tens of millions of people lacking any form of health insurance whatsoever, this seems like a great idea: prepaid healthcare gift cards. At the Givewell site, it's now possible to purchase the Prepaid Healthcare Visa Gift Card in various increments ranging from US$ 25 to US$ 5000. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Healthcare Visa Gift Card will cover prescription co-payments, elective surgery, contact lenses and gym membership. Health insurance company Highmark, which plans to sell "several hundred thousand" gift cards during 2008, will start off marketing the card in Pennsylvania before rolling it out nationwide.

Source: http://blueoceanstrategy.typepad.com/creatingblueoceans/2007/11/giving-the-gift.html