Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment

In 2008, the state of Oregon had the budget to enroll 10,000 individuals into Medicaid. But officials knew that demand for Medicaid would be far greater. To give all poor, uninsured Oregonians a fair chance at receiving health insurance, the state established a lottery. In this simple lottery, renowned economists Katherine Baicker (at Harvard) and Amy Finkelstein (at MIT) found a rare and promising natural experiment. For decades, evidence on the impacts of health insurance on health was dominated by observational studies, which offered inconclusive answers. Under the Oregon lottery, some individuals were randomly selected from a waiting list to receive insurance while others were not, enabling comparison between the two groups, and in effect creating a randomized experiment. The Oregon health experiment, as it came to be known, would finally give economists and policymakers rigorous evidence on how access to health insurance affected the provision and use of health care, and ultimately, influenced the health and well-being of the population. By 2016, as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, an estimated 25 million Americans were set to obtain health insurance, 12 million under Medicaid alone; driving home the need to find conclusive answers to these longstanding questions. Case number 2019.0

Authors :: Amitabh Chandra, Anjani Datla

Topics :: Leadership & Managing People

Tags :: Health, Market research, Personnel policies, Social enterprise, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment" written by Amitabh Chandra, Anjani Datla includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Health Oregon facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Health, Market research, Personnel policies, Social enterprise, Social responsibility and Leadership & Managing People.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Health Oregon, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Health Oregon operates in.

According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Health Oregon
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Health Oregon

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Strengths Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Health Oregon in Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment Harvard Business Review case study are -

Diverse revenue streams

– Health Oregon is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Health Oregon has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Health Oregon has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Health Oregon is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Organizational Resilience of Health Oregon

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Health Oregon does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Health Oregon in the sector have low bargaining power. Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Health Oregon to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

High brand equity

– Health Oregon has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Health Oregon to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Strong track record of project management

– Health Oregon is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Analytics focus

– Health Oregon is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Amitabh Chandra, Anjani Datla can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.

Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field

– Health Oregon is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Health Oregon in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry

– Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Health Oregon to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Health Oregon to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Health Oregon are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.

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Weaknesses Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment are -

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Health Oregon needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Health Oregon is planning to shift buying processes online.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment HBR case study mentions - Health Oregon takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Health Oregon has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Lack of clear differentiation of Health Oregon products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Health Oregon needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Health Oregon has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Health Oregon, firm in the HBR case study Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Health Oregon has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Health Oregon even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.

Need for greater diversity

– Health Oregon has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Health Oregon has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Health Oregon is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

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Opportunities Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment are -

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Health Oregon has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Health Oregon to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment case study. Health Oregon can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Health Oregon can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Health Oregon operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Health Oregon to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Health Oregon can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Health Oregon can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.

Manufacturing automation

– Health Oregon can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Health Oregon can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Health Oregon to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Health Oregon to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Identify volunteer opportunities

– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Health Oregon can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Health Oregon can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Health Oregon is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Reconfiguring business model

– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Health Oregon to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Health Oregon in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Developing new processes and practices

– Health Oregon can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.

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Threats Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment are -

Consumer confidence and its impact on Health Oregon demand

– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Health Oregon has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Health Oregon needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.

Regulatory challenges

– Health Oregon needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.

High level of anxiety and lack of motivation

– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Health Oregon needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Environmental challenges

– Health Oregon needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Health Oregon can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Health Oregon in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.

New competition

– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Health Oregon in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Backlash against dominant players

– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Health Oregon business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Health Oregon can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment .

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Health Oregon can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Health Oregon high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.

Instability in the European markets

– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Health Oregon will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.

Increasing wage structure of Health Oregon

– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Health Oregon.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants. We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –

First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.

Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.

Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Expanding Health Insurance to Millions: Learning from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Health Oregon needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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