Masters’ Students Hear from Health Care Insurance Executives
As we all know, health care insurance has been at the top of the health care reform agenda and reported on through media outlets for the past year. Despite the prominence of the topic, most of us only know about health care insurance from the employee benefits we receive and from what we learn about its economic impact from the classroom or in the news. Given the significant role the insurance industry plays in the health care sector, this year the MHA program developed a relationship with CareFirst, BlueCross BlueShield of Maryland, the state’s largest not-for-profit insurance provider, in order to provide students with a perspective from inside health care insurance industry.
On November 22, students from the MHA and MSPH/Health Policy Classes of 2012 participated in a special two-hour luncheon seminar at CareFirst's headquarters in Baltimore to learn about the business of health care insurance and how the industry is preparing for health care reform. Students first heard from JHSPH Alumnus, Dr. Malcolm Joseph (MPH 1992), CareFirst’s Medical Director. One of the most informative parts of his talk was about the Wellness/Illness Burden of CareFirst’s membership population, a depiction of the cost associated with five different levels of health among CareFirst’s membership population. This discussion clearly demonstrated the disproportionate percentage of cost attributed to the small percentage of members with chronic and catastrophic conditions. Next, Chet Burrell, CareFirst’s President and CEO, discussed the implications of health care reform for insurance companies and how CareFirst was preparing for the changes to come. One of the most compelling parts of this discussion and the Q&A that followed his presentation, was the emphasis and incentives placed on health prevention by the insurance company. It was evident from his presentation that CareFirst places great importance on developing its readiness to adapt to the changes health care reform will bring to its business.
The feedback from students reflected the value in understanding the business side of health care insurance. Students told us that seeing data regarding populations, health and cost, the difference between not-for-profit and for profit insurance companies as well as the goal of focusing on prevention for the future were especially useful and informative.
Of particular value to the students was the opportunity to hear directly from the CEO and be able to ask him direct questions. We look forward to repeating this seminar experience with future MHA cohorts and continuing our relationship with CareFirst.