Ellen Duffield: Highmark Wholecare Continues Long-Standing Commitment to Hire People with Disabilities

At Highmark Health, we believe what makes us unique makes us better. Our differences broaden our perspectives and foster a variety of skills to complement each other, creating a stronger and more vibrant workforce. It's this belief that earned us recognition as the Best Place to Work for the 10th year for individuals with disabilities in a survey by the American Association of People with Disabilities and Disability:IN. We'll continue to celebrate and benefit from the inclusion of all people. To find out more, visit highmarkhealth.org. Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guest, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

Hey everyone, welcome to the show. I hope everyone is having a great day. Thank you, thank you. I can't thank you enough. You know, this is 22nd year. Can you believe that? On the air, sponsored by, yes, Highmark. One of the best companies in America for people with disabilities. There is no company like Highmark where for 30 years every single CEO has stood behind Bender Consulting Services to hire people with a disability. As I tell people all the time, it's amazing. 1985, I have an accident, I have a seizure, find out I have epilepsy, and now here we are. It all started with a seizure. Amazing when you think about it. And I also want to send my best to all of our listeners around the world. As I think I told you last week, Germany has the highest listening audience. But no matter where you are in the world, let me tell you, I don't care. I always say this, I don't care if it's one person, because one person can make a difference. So thank you, thank you, thank you. Hey, Yoshiko Dart, special shout out to you as on every show. Hope you're having a great day. And Richard Roberts in Brazil, Gang Young Cho in South Korea, and all of my friends from where I've traveled, from Indonesia to Japan, Kazakhstan, Panama. I love you all and keep on keeping on fighting the fight for people living with disabilities. Well, as you already heard me say, Hi-Mark is the sponsor and has been the sponsor of this show, and they are such a wonderful company that because it's my 30th anniversary, and as you all know, without Hi-Mark, I wouldn't be able to start this company, and they stood behind me in 1995 to get started. One man. One man, Bill Lowry, who was the CEO back then. It was Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania, which of course, while he was CEO, became Highmark. One man, one decision. Yes, Joyce, I will bring 6 people with disabilities in IT on contract and keep them for 3 years. Here we are today. It's amazing. One man, one decision. Highmark. It's Highmark. So that is why this year, every month, I am bringing on people that are in leadership at Highmark. As you all know, we started the year with David Holmberg. And remember that if you go to Spotify or almost all social venues, or platforms and put in Disability Matters with Joyce Bender on Voice America, you'll be able to find a show, hear a show, share a podcast. So remember, this show is on demand. Now here is a big surprise for our guest today, Alan Duffield, who is the president and CEO of Highmark Bullcare. Alan, for— yes, 10 months after you were on the show, you were the number one show.

No kidding.

Yes, number one.

I go every week.

Yeah, I mean, you, you were higher than authors, uh, celebrities, longer on than David Holmberg. So Alan, I can't tell you that I couldn't wait to tell you that. Oh, so I don't know what it is you did or do or got the news out, but yeah, you're, you're a Disability Matters legend. How about that? I knew you'd be surprised when I told you that. Yeah, but it has been a couple years since you were on. I remember your story However, we now have 137, I think it is, countries with listeners. When you were on, I think it was 15 or something like that. So if— would you mind sharing your story with our listeners? You know, how you got started, where you grew up, where you went to school, and then how that got you to where you are today.

Okay. All right. Well, first of all, thank you again, Joyce Bender, for having me. And congratulations on the growth of the program. Clearly, your message is touching people. So that's great. All righty. So going back, I grew up right outside the city of Philadelphia and in a multigenerational household. My grandparents, my maternal grandparents, lived with us, and I was incredibly close to my grandfather. And my grandpop was a diabetic who had other health issues. He was a smoker. Don't smoke. If you do smoke, quit. But he was a smoker. So when I was 11, he had a laryngectomy. So they removed his voice box and he had to learn how to speak all over again and how to communicate. And my grandfather, being the person that he was, formed a club called the Speakeasy Club of Philadelphia for area laryngectomies and started a social club for that. So, you know, got knocked down, stood back up, and, you know, kind of looked to build a community with others. And at the same time, my grandfather was a caretaker of my two maiden aunts who lived in the city and didn't have transportation. So every week he would do their grocery shopping and, you know, bring one of us to help clean sometimes. And, you know, you know, very much a selfless, caring person. And as I mentioned, he had diabetes. And when I was in college, I think everybody knows that if you're diabetic, taking care of your feet is critical. So, podiatric care. And unfortunately, he had an infection that got out of control and wound up with a below-knee amputation. And, you know, once again, in the face of this, he kind of met the challenge and, you know, learned to walk with his new leg and, you know, kind of went from there. And, you know, along this time, he celebrated his 75th birthday. So he just kept moving forward. And, you know, ultimately wound up with another amputation and passed away not long after I got married. And, you know, when I look at what happened to my grandfather, and I mentioned he was the caretaker of my maiden aunts, and they had some, I'm going to say, very unfortunate medical care that really hastened, you know, their untimely deaths. And, you know, that was a coming-of-age time for me. And I said, we got to do better. Like, this should not be happening. And that's how I headed into— the healthcare industry. And I started out at the Prudential after I graduated from Temple, Temple University in Philadelphia. I started working for the Prudential and worked my way up there and got into what's called managed care, or, you know, healthcare now, which is really making sure that care that's delivered to an individual is coordinated. And, you know, the left hand knows what the right hand is doing and that there's a physician, you know, making sure that there are good outcomes and high-quality outcomes for individuals. So leaving the Prudential and really embracing what I learned at that time was a managed care program for Medicare that really intrigued me. And so from there, I worked at Anthem in Ohio. I worked for UnitedHealth Group in different capacities. I've worked for organizations that provide, you know, computer solutions. So, you know, how you answer the phone, how you pay the claims, in addition to the actual health plans themselves. So I joined Highmark, and it's gonna be 6 months, 6 years next month, back in 2019. And there I was their Chief Operations Officer, and there I led a technology transformation. We were on systems that were 30-some-odd years old. So we went and we did this whole transformation, and we did it during the COVID lockdown. And it was— I've been blessed to work with some incredibly talented, dedicated, and focused individuals, and we were able to navigate to navigate that system's change throughout lockdown. And we brought it to life in October of 2021, and it went incredibly smoothly. And it's one of the things that I'm most proud of here at Highmark, the support, you know, that leadership gave the program, realizing how important it was. And then, you know, the team being able to focus as well as they did during, you know, quite a dynamic time. So those were the early stages, but let me tell you a little bit about Highmark, Highmark Whole Care, and our programs that we offer. So Highmark Whole Care is based in Pennsylvania, but we also have Medicaid programs and dual special needs programs in other markets. So Medicaid is for individuals who are socioeconomically challenged or have a disability that would allow them to qualify. Very important program. And then we have what is called a Dual Special Needs Program, and that program is for individuals who are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare, and really provides a, I'll say, a complete wraparound benefit for individuals. So in total, we have membership in Delaware, West Virginia, in addition to Pennsylvania and upstate New York. And all told, we have about 535,000 members across our— the entirety of our footprint, and we have just over 330,000 right here in Pennsylvania. So it's a, it's a great program. We're doing wonderful things in the community. Our quality ratings, which is, you know, the yardstick or the Good Housekeeping approval. We're 4-star plans. We're one of the top quality plans in Pennsylvania. Our dual special needs plan is a 4.5-star plan. So, you know, really high-performing, and I think that has a lot to do with really the mission of Highmark and the focus of the organization in terms of ensuring that we have quality outcomes. So I'll pause, Joyce, to see if there are any questions you want to throw at me.

No, I think that is really, all of it, a great story. And I think it's wonderful, as Perry said, that you include the disability community because, as you well know, Perry, there are people that don't know. You know, it's important to get that news out. Don't you agree?

Oh, Joyce, absolutely. I mean, you know, to get the news out that you're a, you know, a 4+ star plan to people who get to choose, to choose their plan is important and to value the disability community. That's why it's so important that we in the disability community get to see Highmark Whole Care sponsor things like Disability Pride or Be a Disability Pride or any of the other important community events around the state. It's been wonderful to see them there and to do outreach and to inform the community about both their Medicaid plan and the program for the dual eligibles as Ellen just described. Yeah, it's important.

We have a community engagement team and they're spread across the state of Pennsylvania into Delaware, West Virginia, et cetera. And we look for those events where we can partner with those community organizations United Disability, Disability Rights, some of the local CBOs, and really tailor the programs to what that community organization needs. So, you know, whether it's a sponsorship or individuals to help support, be on the ground and help at the event, you know, we find that very important. And then additionally, you know, those folks who are in the field are able to help people with questions. I mean, obviously they don't have to be a Highmark member. We would love for them to be a Highmark member, but they don't have to be. But we can certainly assist with, you know, renewing their eligibility, applying for other programs within, within the state or Commonwealth. You know, our team is there to support those organizations in the field as well.

Well, Highmark Whole Care has really grown over the past several years, Alan. And also, as you said, West Virginia, Delaware, New York. What was the other? Was there another location?

West Virginia. And West Virginia.

Yeah, that is really great to, you know, see that. And what I want to say about all this is that to people with disabilities, when you choose a company I would hope you would choose a company that cares about people with disabilities. You know, I always— you know how you'll hear a certain, you know, people with disabilities go to Costco because of recent things they've done. In other words, when you do something for me, I'm going to return that favor. Okay, Highmark Whole Care doesn't just do all these community engagement things, they hire people. Yes. Okay, and that is where the rubber meets the road. I'm very sad to say, you know, as we all know, 70% of people with disabilities are not counted in the workforce. Perry, I am very worried that that number is going to go up because, you know, so many people have lost their jobs. And everything else going on, I'm worried that's going to go up. What do you think, Perry?

Oh, Joyce, absolutely. I, I won't say which federal agency I was on the phone with earlier today, but a person who was on Social Security Disability was able to transition that through OVR off of disability and works for this federal agency to monitor grants, um, is every day worried about whether they're going to lose their job with the federal government. And then what, go back on disability and, and not pay taxes? You know, this is a ridiculous, uh, way to, uh, trim, trim costs. It just is, Joyce. Uh, doesn't make any sense.

Well, the thing is, when people with disabilities lose their job, it's so hard. You know, you're blind, someone's finally giving you a chance, you stay there for, you know, years, and all of a sudden you don't have a job. That is now harder for a person with a disability to get a job. So why I am saying all of this, from when Ellen took this job 6 years ago, she as COO She has stood behind me and has hired people. So I'm saying this to you because once again, people can tell you, oh yeah, I care about people with disabilities. Oh yeah, we want to do the right thing. Hire someone. Yeah, hire them. That's what makes the difference. So I just want you to know this is a company that hires people. Under Ellen's leadership, and, you know, I think that is awesome. So Ellen, how— if someone's listening right now and they say, oh, I do want to get my Medicaid through Highmark or that dual eligibility, what do they do?

They could go to www.highmarkwholecare.com and type in what they're interested in, whether it's, you know, what they're interested in learning about, whether it's Medicare or Medicaid, and information will come forward. Certainly, as it relates to Medicaid, it's state-specific, right? So if you're in Delaware, you want to go to Highmark Health Options. So what I'll do, Joyce, is I will forward you the for the website names and we can, we can publish them, them out for folks. But, you know, for Medicaid, you need to, to be in the state. You have to reside in the state in which you're applying. I'll put it to you that way. Okay. And then, yeah, and there's a, you know, if you are currently on Medicaid in, you know, say in the state of Pennsylvania, you can go ahead and change plans. You would go to Maximus, which the information's contained on the website to make that change. But certainly there are many options out there to, in order to join us. I'm sorry, let me back that up again. So it's out on our website, the contact information, and you can go ahead and follow the instructions that are on the website.

Same thing if they go to Highmark Whole Care, Is it dot com? Yeah, dot com. And once again, if you just joined, we're talking to Ellen Duffield, president and CEO of Highmark Whole Care and star of Disability Matters because she had one of the longest running first place. So Zach, or whoever, I don't know where you sent this out, but you make sure you do the same thing again. And Ellen is such a kind person, you know, I mean, she is, and she's very humble. But I'm telling you all of this, if you live in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York— is West Virginia open? Are they—

are you— it's over.

Yes. Okay. Or West Virginia, this is the company. Go to a company that cares about you. You know, since I worked with Heimark, first it was Bill Lowry Then he retired, but before he retired, he took me to meet John Brouse, who was the CEO of Blue Shield. Well, it was now Highmark. And when he retired, he took me to meet Ken Maloney, but I already knew him. And when he retired, he took me to meet Bill Winkenwerder. And then along comes David Holmberg. Who is the only CEO that ever said this to me. Joyce Bender, like, where are all the wheelchairs in the lobby? You know, like, where are the seeing eye dogs? Where are the service dogs? He meant we need to hire more people. That's what he was meaning. And I remember saying, wow, I wish I had this on video because notice He didn't say, you know, Joyce Bender, like people like you, or, you know, or people with other non-apparent disabilities. He said blind and wheelchair. So this company has stood behind me, everyone, all these years. And it's David Holmberg that came up with the idea for the Highmark 30. 30, which is we will honor the Americans with Disabilities Act by hiring 30 people from Joyce Bender to honor the 30th anniversary of the ADA. You think it stopped? No, next year 31, 32, 33, 34. Now we're on, which is big, the 35th anniversary of the ADA happens to be the 30th anniversary of Bender Consulting Services, and it's still going on. See, this is what I mean about— hi, this is what I mean. You know, every time I meet someone, if they work for Highmark, I tell them, even if I don't know you, I know I like you because you're from Highmark. But Perry, you know, when Ellen hears me saying all of this, you know very well what people go through trying to find employment. I mean, especially people with significant disabilities.

Absolutely. The commitment that Highmark has shown here to people with disabilities through Bender Consulting has been so significant and such a model for other companies, not just in Pennsylvania, but in our— certainly around the country. Absolutely.

Yeah, before we go— I'm sorry, go ahead, Ellen.

No, I was just going to say, and working with you and your team, Joyce, in terms of finding candidates, onboarding candidates, I mean, it's really just a great partnership in terms of finding individuals who fit into our, you know, fit roles here at Highmark and those roles fit the individual. So it's really just been a tremendous partnership. You know, back and forth, if you will.

And Alan's company has also worked with me on digital accessibility. So it's just, you know, it's just wonderful. It really is. What I was going to say before we go to our news break is we had like a Hallmark— we called the Hallmark Christmas Story. This year at my company. And what that was, there's a young man, I've known him for a long time. I placed him, guess where, Ellen? WellPoint. Before they went back to being Anthem. Yeah, that's how long ago it was. And he was a junior project coordinator. He kept moving up, moving up. He always kept in touch with me. And then Anthem or WellPoint, can't remember what it was, had this huge layoff. So he lost his job and he went to work for this IT consulting company. So he was there for a while and then he went to another one, but then they had a big layoff. So he went through a few years, no work. So he was still working, whether it was at retail, doing whatever he had to do. Well, he had exactly what another superstar, Tracy Sala, was looking for. Yeah. And so she's also a leader at Highmark. And so anyway, we, we got him a job. He works at Highmark now. And you know what? He called our office. See, Highmark said, we're going to extend him an offer. We're going to call him. We want to get in touch with him at 1 o'clock or something. I mean, 3 o'clock. So at 1 o'clock, he went out to run his errands because he didn't want to miss that call. Well, when you know it, Highmark calls earlier than 3 o'clock. Yeah. And so he parks the car and he called us and said, they called me, they extended me an offer. And then he said, and then I looked up at the parking lot, I looked up at the sign and I said, I won't have to come back to the food bank. Oh wow. Yeah, and you know, all of the recruiters here were like so choked up when he said this. I won't have to come back to the food bank. That is what I mean about hiring people. So with that, it's time to go to our news break with— we only have Perry Jude Radesik with us. 2 more times. Yes, folks, she's moving on, but she'll never leave us. I— she can tell you what she's gonna do, but, uh, at the end— no, you can tell them next week on the last show. But Perry is right now, of course, the outgoing CEO at Disability Rights PA. So she is working with the new CEO, Jennifer Garmon, Um, but Perry is so awesome, she is so brilliant, and she always is right on target. Perry, what's our news today?

Joyce, I just want to thank you. Uh, you have been— this has been such a blessing and a wonderful opportunity to join you in the show. Thank you for asking, um, 7 years ago, uh, to, to do this. So yeah, Department of Education, Joyce, Disability advocates, our disability community has been grappling with the significant changes that have been announced at the U.S. Department of Education under President Trump. Just to throw out a statistic, 7.5 million students utilize special education services across the country. Everyone may remember that President Trump campaigned on a promise to to shut down the U.S. Department of Education. So last week he issues an order to do just that, close the Department of Education. The executive order doesn't have a lot of specifics. He kind of leaves it up to Secretary McMahon to do that work. But as of today, Joyce, almost half of the staff at the Department of Education have experienced layoffs in the— in over the last 2 weeks. Been pretty devastating to all of the work that they were doing and all of the work that we take— are able to utilize out in the country. So our fears, our concerns are that children with disabilities are gonna be harmed by these changes. Now these changes are driven by a different philosophy and that's fine, right? Different philosophy, a different president, about the role, the involvement of the federal government in education, but it also goes a little bit further. It's also a different philosophy about the importance of inclusivity in education and importance about the enforcement of civil rights for students with disabilities. So here's how that different philosophy plays out. One of the first changes made to the department was to significantly reduce staffing over at Education's Office of Civil Rights and to also shut down civil rights offices around the country. All of these civil rights offices belong to the Department of Education. So they shut down offices and lay off all of those staff members. The administration closed 7 of 12 regional civil rights offices including Philadelphia. Now Philadelphia handles all the complaints from Pennsylvania, including the complaints from students and parents of children with disabilities. Other office closures have included Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, New York, and San Francisco. So where are the other offices? Where are our complaints going to go? Where are families of children with disabilities, where are their complaints gonna go? So the remaining offices are Atlanta, Denver, Kansas City, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. So Atlanta, Denver, Kansas City, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. So 5 offices are gonna have to pick up the civil rights cases from all the rest of the country and manage not just the old cases, but the new cases that get filed by children and parents with disabilities. Joyce, needless to say, lawsuits have been filed. Absolutely. Multiple states through their attorneys generals have sued the Department of Education over the reduction in force. They are alleging that the reductions will cause immense damage to their states and to their educational systems. Then when it comes to children with disabilities, the National Center for Youth Law and the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates filed a lawsuit on behalf of two parents who have pending civil rights investigations, so to force that department to continue with the investigations and not just let them sit there. Joyce Bender, oh my gosh, could you imagine, like, you know, your kid needs extended year services, and here we are nearing the end of the school year and that now may not get resolved. And your child may fall behind over the summer because they can't get the extended year services. So I tell you all this, so what can your listeners do? I think it's always important to remember that advocacy matters. First thing is your listeners have to spread the word that IDEA and Section 504 are still law. They're still the law of the country. So states and schools, no matter what the U.S. Department of Education do, states and schools must follow federal laws, including IDEA and Section 504, and any state laws that may exist to protect children with disabilities. The second thing we gotta remember to tell people is that families and students can still file complaints. They can still file civil rights complaints through the Department of Education. One of the few things that's still up on the Department of Ed is how to file a complaint. You could still file a complaint, although I think it's unclear how the shifting responsibilities across these office closures are gonna affect those cases that get filed. And then thirdly, the American Association of People with Disabilities— Joyce, you know the organization— has issued an action alert to protect disabled students and keep the Department of Education open. I think we all need to go to their website or go to disabilityrightsPA.org, click on today's Advocacy Matters segment where you will find a link to AAPD— that's AAPD.com— so that you can support programs for children with disabilities. The link will send a letter to your members of Congress, so it's really important that we all do that and tell our members of Congress that we want the Department of Education to stay open and we want to support programs for children with disabilities. So Joyce, It's a horrible situation. A lot is still up in the air, but I think if your listeners do what they always do, which is act, go to AAPD.com and click on their action alert to save the Department of Education, I think we will be protecting all those students with disabilities.

Ah, I hope you listen. Don't sit back and complain. The only way we're gonna see change is if there is massive response. So thank you. Thank you, Perry. We'll keep our eye on what's happening there. Alan, getting back to Highmark Whole Care. Yes. What, what has been your proudest achievement in 2024?

In 2024? Wow. So 2024 was a very dramatic year. And for Highmark Whole Care, in terms of our— there was a process that started in 2023 and went through 2024. With the ending of the public health emergency, individuals on Medicaid had to recertify their eligibility. We call it redeterminations. And it affected all 3 million, for example, in the state of Pennsylvania, all 3 million Medicaid participants in Pennsylvania. And across the country, this was happening. And one of the things that I'm most proud of is the outreach that we did to our members, because they had to respond to an inquiry from their respective state Medicaid agency and recertify their eligibility. So, you know, we were out in the community at different events farmers markets, you know, school events we turned up at, and a multitude of other community events to educate people to get out there and respond to this, because if they didn't, they could lose their coverage. And a substantial number of individuals did simply because they failed to file their paperwork. So I'm very proud of the work that we did you know, with our own membership and of course within the community to help individuals recertify their eligibility and maintain coverage. So that's one. I think the other thing that I would add is just our continued focus on being a quality health plan, meaning healthy outcomes. And we look at our members holistically. Right, they say that, you know, 80% of your wellbeing is driven by social factors. Where you live, do you have housing stability, food insecurity, transportation, and it hits across the folks that we serve. So, you know, the work that we do to support the entire person in addition to seeing a physician and getting the appropriate preventive care, but also making sure our members have the transportation to get to that physician's appointment. If they are in need of an emergency food box, you know, if they need temporary housing, we have services and programs that support our members to do that. And as a result, we're a top 2 quality health plan, you know, for example, in the state of Pennsylvania, and a 4-star program in other states as well. So, the work that we do shows in the results from the quality and the STAR measures, but also from the impact on our members' lives and really helping them be at their— be able to attain the best health possible in their lives.

Wow. Well, listen, would you suggest then if one of our listeners does have issues but cannot get, for example, to AHN or Highmark Whole Care or wherever it is because they do not have transportation, you know, is there a place at Highmark they can call?

Certainly, they can call the 800 number for, if they're a Highmark Whole Care member, they can call the phone number on the back of their membership card and the customer service rep can help them obtain transportation. If they're not a Highmark Whole Care member, all of the other health plans that work in the Medicaid space also have similar programs and they can again contact their health plan. The number will be on the back of their member identification card and the service center can help support that member get a ride.

Wow, that is awesome. Boy, that is a good thing to know. That's really a great thing to know.

Um, go ahead.

We want our members to get their care, and, um, you know, it's absolutely critical that we remove those barriers, um, for, for them to, to get to the doctor, whether it's the transportation or even making the I would have to say overall, over the past 3 or 4 years, that one story you told, the technical IT or technical transformation during COVID to be able to get all of your employees doing that, that's amazing. I mean, weren't people like nervous doing this? I guess no.

I think two things. Number one, again, with the support of Highmark, we were able to establish a really focused team on this. Right? So that was job one. And two, I think with the lockdown occurring at the very beginning of this program, it kind of really gave folks an opportunity to focus elsewhere. Than what was happening around them. And I think the other point was we all understood how critical it was to our members, to, you know, to our program, to the state, that we deliver this transition in a seamless manner. So again, I've been incredibly fortunate to work with some incredibly talented people who are very focused on the membership and the mission that we have. Joyce, I've got folks who have been with the program for 26 years. I think he was, you know, the 6th hire for what was originally Gateway. But we have individuals who have been with the program for decades. And, you know, and that's the commitment to the members that we serve. So it wasn't hard to marshal the troops, I'll put it that way.

Well, you know what? That says something about you. It's hard to get people to do things if they don't want to follow a great leader. And I mean, that was— I just said to someone the other day, even when I think back of when that first happened and seeing that on the news, uh, you know, I mean, wow, hard to believe that, you know.

We, uh, we put programs in place on a— we've been meeting because you could see how this was progressing all along. But yeah, we had a program in place on a Wednesday, so we were able to tell people on a Friday, you're staying home. They had their laptops, we had them set up. We didn't miss a beat. We just kept moving forward. You know, a little more challenging, you know, for the community work. So a lot of that was around funneling resources to our community partner because we couldn't necessarily can't necessarily be out there in the field. But yeah, it, it touched all parts of our organization for sure.

Yeah, well, Highmark was great during that. I remember Alan and Perry, you know, when this first started. As a matter of fact, it was March 16th.

We kept the anniversary of it.

Yeah, yeah, I remember saying, okay. All right, you guys, we're gonna have to stay home probably for a few weeks and then we'll be back. Oh my God, I had no idea how, you know, what was going to happen, but my staff, people with disabilities, just marched right on and did such a great job. Well, there's been a lot of change, that's for sure. So, Alan, what do you hope to see happen at Highmark Whole Care over the next 3 years?

Well, certainly we want to continue to grow and serve more members, right? Whether they're in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, New York, we want to continue to grow because we believe in the programs and the quality outcomes that we deliver are unmatched, uh, in the market. So one would be continued growth, um, and part of, you know, being able to grow is because we are delivering the service and the quality that our members deserve. So making sure our members get all their preventive care visits. Again, we talked about helping facilitate them getting to the doctors, to the grocery store, to the dentist. So, you know, continuing to deliver quality outcomes for our members is of the absolute most importance. And then, you know, as we move through the changes that are on the horizon, horizon, and, and what form they're going to take is to be determined. But certainly we're going to be at the table with our regulators and our community partners and, you know, figuring out the, the most effective path forward and offering solutions as well. So that's right. I've been in healthcare for over 30 years, Joyce, and it's, it's always evolving. It's always changing.

Oh wow. Yeah, just like telehealth.

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah.

And now it's AI. And, you know, now how do we bring this technology to, you know, make a clinician's job more efficient so they can focus more time on patient care? How do we use technology to make our members' experience more seamless in terms of, you know, making an appointment, getting a prescription refilled, et cetera. You know, there's a lot of opportunity out there. And then there's just a lot of, you know, what I'll call blocking and tackling in the community that we need to continue to do, whether it's, you know, distributing fresh food. We delivered over 84,000 pounds of fresh produce in Western Pennsylvania just in one year. Wow. To 3,500 families. So, you know, really being out in the community, we— one thing I should mention is we had wheelchair chargers installed in the AHN facilities. And we were the first time charging stations were available in healthcare facilities in Pennsylvania. And that's remarkable that that was the first time. But something we're incredibly proud of. And then the other community involvement, whether it's March for Dimes or American Diabetes Association and the Highmark Walk, for health are all very important things that really keep us close to the communities that we're serving.

And, you know, when you talk about all these things like the social determinants that relate to healthcare parity, there is, there's no doubt that for many of those things, you know, studies have shown people with disabilities, you know, healthcare disparities. And it isn't just my health, it's what is involved externally or in the environment that has that impact, such as poverty.

I mean, you know, absolutely, yeah, lack of transportation, you're, you know, worried about losing your housing, all of these pressures.

It just, you know, the hierarchy, if You know, if someone doesn't know if they're gonna have a home or have heat or food on the table, they probably aren't gonna worry about getting a vaccine, right? That's not gonna be an immediate priority when they have more basic issues that they need to address. So we try to remove those barriers.

Yes, and Highmark has done so much in so many different areas for people with disabilities, but they certainly have made access to Medicaid and to what you're doing at Highmark Whole Care front and center for people with disabilities. And that is so important. It's right now all about presence. You know, people need hope. Yes. And just being there, just presence does so much. Don't you think, Perry?

Absolutely. And it serves as a reminder on an ongoing basis, right? It's that I can get my care. Care is important. I have to take care of myself. I have all these pressures, but I still have to see my primary care. And when I have to go to the hospital, there'll be a charger there, right? Like, it's all these things that really are important for people right now. To give them a sense of stability.

That's right. So, Alan, you are just a really good person. You're a good human.

Thank you, Joyce Bender. So are you.

Yeah, so someone obviously had— and I bet one is your grandfather from the stories you've told— but what I was going to ask you is, who, who is your role model?

Well, my grandfather was my biggest role model, but there are other individuals that I have worked with over the years who really have demonstrated, I would say, you know, 3 traits, right? I think, you know, number 1, you know, humility and a sense of service. You know, to the broader community and really having an impact. I think to compassion and having the ability to think about an issue or an item from another perspective. I think that's a real opportunity for everybody these days to look at things from different perspectives. And I think the third thing is resilience. And I think my grandfather was, you know, very significant in demonstrating, you know, resilience throughout his life and the importance of that, whether it's an organization demonstrating resilience or an individual demonstrating resilience. And I can name a couple of former bosses who all exhibited those traits for me, both here at Highmark and at other places. As well.

And those three again are?

Humility and a sense of service, compassion, and resilience. Say, I had a question. You're gonna get knocked down, right?

Oh, that is great for everyone to hear, but like young people that are listening to this show or young people with disabilities listening, you know, you're hearing this from a CEO. Sometimes when people tell you these things, you know, it's like, "Oh yeah, really?" But really, you just heard it from the CEO of Highmark Whole Care. And our theme, we started, and I think it's 2001, having a theme for the year at Bender. And then what we would do is send a quote out to all of our current and past employees. And there would be a tip. I would have a tip that I gave them that related to the theme for the year. The first year it was character, and guess what this year is?

Humility. Humility.

Yep. So yeah, I'm— I, I— whenever you think you're all that, you know you're not all that.

It takes a village too, right?

Yes, it does. Yes. So, Ellen, what message do you have for our listeners?

Well, I'd like to echo points that you and Perry just made about advocacy. Make your voices heard, but continue doing what you're doing. You know, certainly we at Highmark understand and appreciate the value that the disabled individuals of our workforce bring, that diversity, that perspective is critical, and I think it's important for folks to continue to strive and do that and keep showing up because it makes a difference every day.

Keep showing up. How true that is. Well, we end, and thank you, Ellen, and thank you, Perry.

Thank you, Joyce Bender. Thank you.

We— and once again, Ellen Duffield, President and CEO of Highmark Whole Care. And the website, Ellen, is highmarkwholecare.com?

Yes, yes, highmarkwholecare.com.

Highmark. So, you know, and if you know of anyone, especially someone in this situation where they need Medicaid, make sure you tell them about this show, or just share this show with other people so that they can hear, uh, because they need to go somewhere where they care about you, um, and that is how Mark Cole cares. So we end every show with a quote. I know, Perry, you're going to love this because of some things you said today, and that is Hope will never be silent, said Harvey Milk. Hope will never be silent. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, at Disability Matters on voiceamerica.com. See you next week. And in the words of Mary Brooker, when you go out today, Remember, choose joy.

Voice America would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific time and 2 PM Eastern time for another installment of Disability Matters right here on the Voice America variety channel. We are the leader in live internet talk radio. VoiceAmerica.com.