News - March, 2006
State Agency Launches New Logo in its Battle for Health Care
The agency, the Office of Private Health Partnerships, won a Logo Bee "Design Makeover Contest" for non-profits. The office received a new name on January 1 and, thus, needed a new logo. It asked for help communicating its work in bridging the gap between public and private sector health insurance programs.
OPHP attempts to make insurance affordable by subsidizing monthly premiums for lower-income individuals and designing affordable health plans for businesses. In the U.S., most people with health insurance get it through an employer. But a significant percentage of small businesses don't offer insurance; also, some workers don't qualify for the benefits as part-time employees.
About 17 percent of Oregonians lack health insurance. That's more than 600,000 adults and children.
"As a state agency, we have a limited budget for marketing and a limited amount of time in-house to work on projects like this" said Howard "Rocky" King, head administrator of the OPHP. "We were thrilled to win a logo design and were even more grateful to be able to work with a professional design team."
The office had considered a logo that included a bridge but hadn't captured a "look." It also wanted something with style.
"Most agency logo designs are conservative and governmental-looking" said Bill Banaszek of the OPHP. "They don't tend to reflect the missions of the agencies and only reflect the fact that they're government offices."
Because OPHP targets family households, small business employers and employees, it also needed something that would appeal to the public.
"The abstract bridge does a great job of communicating our efforts to narrow the gap between public and private sectors and help make health insurance more affordable to Oregonians," concluded King.
THE BATTLE FOR HEALTH INSURANCE
"Due to the increasing costs of health insurance premiums, the rate of uninsured is on the rise in Oregon and the U.S. despite the programs and efforts of the OPHP. The National Coalition on Health Care has cited that in 2005, employer health insurance premiums increased by 9.2 percent, nearly three times the rate of inflation.
However, the OPHP has been working to reach out to the public and private sectors creating awareness and alternatives. One such alternative is the Family Health Insurance Assistance Program, or FHIAP. It helps income-eligible families pay the monthly premium for private health insurance. The office also designed two "first time" health insurance plans for uninsured small businesses of two to 50 employees. These plans are sold by two private health insurance companies.
More information on the Office of Private Health Partnerships can be found on their website at www.ophp.oregon.gov