Every two weeks, I have the distinct pleasure of speaking to a group of Blue Cross’ newest hires in a class we call Health Insurance 101. The crux of the lesson is a simple one: What’s the point of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana? Why are we here?
Brilliant! Occasionally, I get to work with someone whose grasp of technology and the real possibilities of data and modeling just blow me away.
When I was a little boy growing up in the 1960s, there was an elderly widow who lived next door to us whom all the kids loved. Miss Elaine had been married to an Army staff sergeant who traveled the world with her in tow. She was a tough cookie! She taught all of us kids to play poker and pinochle (her favorite) and was constantly giving us advice in her raspy, smoky voice (about two packs a day by my recollection).
Early in 2009, my boss directed me to become an expert on the ongoing negotiations in Washington, D.C. that eventually became the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), signed into law on March 23, 2010.
Fourteen years ago, I was working for a collapsing telecom company that had just shut down the division I worked for and laid off about 70 of us. Three months later, I began my career here at Blue Cross, and as a cancer survivor, you might imagine I was VERY interested in getting health insurance coverage.
Here at Straight Talk, we’re usually talking about things that drive up your healthcare and health insurance costs. So, it’s nice to be able to share some good news with all of you!
