One of my favorite sayings that my older relatives would bat around every time we went hunting, fishing, or enjoyed a football game and meal at their houses on a fall Sunday was this:
“Mike, that’s just short-term smart and long-term stupid! Stay away from it!” Read more
Oh, yes, the headlines were blaring at me recently: “New research shows the United States’ healthcare system came in LAST compared to the 10 best in the world!”
Of course, me being me, I couldn’t let THAT stand without digging into the details. Read more
Way back in 2009, when I went to Washington, D.C. on behalf of your Louisiana Blue Plan for the first time, I discovered some amazing things. You might call me a wide-eyed, first-timer in the Big City (even though I was already 48 years old!) as I met lobbyists, legislators, staffers for a bunch of influential people, and policymakers intent on writing what eventually became the Affordable Care Act. Read more
Just a few days ago, I was watching my 10-month-old grandson. He and I were cuddled up on the sofa watching one of his three favorite movies (I think it was “Winnie the Pooh” this time), and he was hilarious. Giggling and smiling and burying his head into my shoulder at the same time. Right then, I had a flashback to my own childhood. Read more
I recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of my first day at Louisiana Blue. And I remain, after all these years, 100% sold on the notion that the best way to pay for a person’s healthcare is by creating entities like us and giving them the freedom to make local decisions and manage our healthcare funds here in Louisiana. Read more
I’ve always been astounded by how much the names we call people, i.e. “nicknames,” can be so different from a person’s given, legal name.
Sometimes there are good reasons for nicknames. When I entered first grade way back in 1967, there were FIVE “Mikes” in my class! Out of just 28 kids. Naturally, I became “Bertaut,” which ultimately was shortened to “BURR-DOE,” which I was stuck with all the way through high school. Even today, when I reconnect with my old high school friends, the name sticks. Read more
