1. What is Medica?
Medica, is a nonprofit health plan based in Minnesota. Our focus is to deliver a personalized health care experience for our members, through our partnerships with providers and health systems. Our mission, and our promise to our members, is simple: To better your life with care in the moments that matter.
We fulfill this promise every day through coordinated care, next-level service, and personalized experiences. We strive to make our members feel connected, cared for, and understood. We believe our members deserve the peace of mind that comes with knowing their health plan has the resources, partnerships, and services in place to understand, and meet, their unique health care needs.
2. What was your professional journey that led you to Medica?
I have a nontraditional background for someone in this role, and so my journey is a bit unique. When I started my career, I spent most of my time in finance roles in industries outside of health care. I was in consumer products at General Mills and Pillsbury and moved over to Best Buy where I stayed for almost 13 years. The big change in my career came when I went to Optum, and I stepped into a CFO role for one of its segments and then a business leadership role.
It was an incredible experience to learn a completely new industry but also be able to leverage my experience and background to benefit the business. I made the move to Medica very deliberately – I loved the people, the culture and the mission orientation and was excited to be able to help shape the future.
3. Can you share some things your organization has done that you are most proud of?
There are so many strengths that Medica has that I’m proud of. But there are a few that I’d call out, with number one being our people. People are drawn to Medica because of the mission, and you hear that no matter who you talk to. There’s an incredible amount of heart and compassion at Medica, and the way people work together and take care of our members is really special.
I’m also proud of the trusted relationships we build. In the health care ecosystem, it takes relationships with care systems, customer, brokers, and members to achieve high-quality, affordable care, and relationships are at the core of who Medica is.
And finally, I’m proud of our community engagement. We are out there volunteering and finding ways to give back financially with a specific focus on nutritional security, healthy moms and babies, and mental health. This year, we’ll give more than $6 million to the communities where we live and work. Another great example of our community efforts is around our recent recognition of becoming a Beyond the Yellow Ribbon company. This is a huge testament to our team and the work supporting our veterans and ensuring service members feel welcome and have the support the need to rejoin the workforce.
4. What motivates you as a leader?
To me, the greatest motivation as a leader is seeing the possibilities and then helping our teams rise to the challenge and accomplish things they may not have even known were possible.
5. What advice would you give to aspiring health care leaders who are looking to make an impact in this industry?
The best piece of advice I got from a mentor is to be super clear on who you serve. If you stay focused on who you serve, everything else becomes clear and your priorities fall into place.
6. How do you see the healthcare industry changing in the next 5-10 years, and what is your organization doing to stay ahead of those changes?
This is a highly dynamic industry that will see change driven by technology, regulatory and legislative actions, new drug therapies and medical innovation as well as the changing health of the population and continued cost pressure. As a regional plan, we are focused on helping our members achieve better health by continuing to build on our partnerships to lower costs and drive better outcomes, investing in technology and analytics that deliver actionable insights and advocating for solutions that reduce costs.
7. How does your company prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in terms of your workforce and the services you offer?
Over the last several years we’ve enhanced the support we provide our people and our communities through the lens of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. We set goals to attract and retain diverse talent, and we continue to exceed those goals in both hiring and career development into leadership positions. We also have seven employee resources groups (ERGs), which gives our employee groups a safe space to connect and share their experiences and perspectives.
In terms of our services, ensuring that all people have access to the care they need to live they best life is our job. We’re specifically focused in two areas now –mental health care and maternal health care. There are significant barriers in both areas today, ranging from stigma, access, equitable wellbeing and safety guidelines and bias.
8. What do you see as the biggest opportunity and challenge facing the healthcare industry?
The biggest challenge is the continued unsustainable cost trends driven by systemic issues including an aging population, increases in chronic disease and a transformative but expensive drug pipeline. All parts of the healthcare system are under pressure from a cost and clinical capacity standpoint. The biggest opportunity is innovation that leads to a healthier population. That innovation can come from medical advances but also in how we work with our partners and our members to improve health and wellness.
9. What are your hobbies or things you enjoy doing when not at work?
I love to be outside and spend time with my family – kids, dogs, and husband. That means spending family time at our cabin in Northern Minnesota, being out on the lake, in my garden at home or around the lakes in Minneapolis where we live. I’m an animal lover and now that we are empty nesters, our two golden retrievers are incredibly spoiled! When we’re not here, we’re travelling to visit kids and explore new places.
10. What is your favorite thing about the Medical Alley community?
I’m new to the Medical Alley community, and one thing I’ve enjoyed is getting to hear the voices of leaders from across the industry. Whether it be pharmaceutical, provider or device, I learn, gain new perspectives and new ideas.
