Ellen Duffield: Highmark Wholecare Hires People with Disabilities

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 in the United States and around the world, welcome to the show today. I have to mention the around the world part because I'm going to talk about meeting with some guests from South America a little bit ago. But first, Richard Roberts in Brazil, you are so awesome. I love you so much. Hey, Richard, guess what? I met these countries from South America. So that fits into what we're going to be doing in Brazil. And Gangyang in South Korea, I think the world of you. Cheryl Harris with the State Department, who I first met when she was in Tunisia. You were just so awesome to work with. And then you mean in Kazakhstan. Now, back to today. We had the State Department call me with representatives from Honduras, Venezuela, Paraguay, Chile, to to Nicaragua that they wanted to talk about employing people with disabilities. And what better place to have it than at Highmark, who, as you all know, is a champion behind employing people with disabilities from Bender Consulting. And the CEO of NGINN and the Chief Human Capital Officer of Highmark came in to speak to this group of people. That's just an example of what Highmark is like. But I also want to say how sad it is to hear how people with disabilities are treated in these countries and what an incredible lack of opportunity they have. But we're going to keep working with the State Department and work with you to try to make a difference. And this gets me to my guest— I mean, I'm sorry, my countries that listen to the show. From Australia to China to Russia to Brazil and Japan, we have listeners in 17 countries. And thank you again. I always thank you because you're helping me change lives just by being so supportive of this show. And also, Yoshiko Dart, special shout out to you. I'll never forget you, Yoshiko. Love you. Shout out to you. Now, I was talking about Hi, Mark, and what a great company they are. As you also know, they are the lead sponsor of this radio show, but they also have been supportive from the CEO level. That's unusual, sadly, in corporate America. You all know we have this incredibly high unemployment rate for people with disabilities, but as Mick Malek said today, He's doing this for a business reason, not charity, because the people— we place people with disabilities there and they've been there for like 20 years, some of them. Incredible loyalty to the company. Just to show you the dedication, today the CEO— okay, not manager of HR, not marketing, the CEO— of Highmark Whole Care, Ellen Duffield, is the guest on the show today. And Ellen, it is truly a pleasure to have you on the show today, and myself again, and be— in behalf of all people with disabilities, thank you so much for joining the show.

Well, Joyce, thank you so much for asking me to come speak with you today, and I'm very excited to speak with you and, and your many listeners around the world. So good morning or good afternoon or good evening, wherever you are. And I'm looking forward to our conversation this afternoon. Thank you for having me.

Of course. Well, Ellen, you know, since we do have people, as you just heard, around the world and of course throughout the United States, I like, you know, I like them to know who you are and your story so they understand the impact that this has. So, you know, would you mind telling us the Ellen Duffield story? You know, like where did you grow up and what went on from there and how did you end up at Highmark Whole Care? And then about your new role at Highmark Whole Care.

Sure, I would be delighted to. And I just hit a milestone birthday, so it's kind of a long story, everybody, but I'll try to keep it interesting for you. So, I I grew up outside of Philadelphia. I am one of 7 children. My grandparents also lived with our family, and so I had a very, very close relationship with my grandpop, my granddad. You know, so much so that we would go to baseball games together. We would play cards. Just a very close relationship. With him. And my grandfather was a Type 1 diabetic and also a smoker. And when I was 11 years old, my grandpop had a laryngectomy. They removed his voice box, so he lost his ability to speak, you know, as we all do. So, my grandfather, being the individual that he was, promptly went out and started a club for laryngectomies in the Philadelphia area called the Speakeasy Club and became very proficient in communicating and speaking. And throughout this whole journey of his, he worked full-time. So, he had an employer who accommodated him and worked with him and allowed him to continue to work. And from there, unfortunately, as he got a little older, he also lost both of his legs below his knees to diabetes and complications from diabetes. But he never stopped. It never stopped him. And when I got married, he and my father walked me down the aisle. So, I— I have tremendous respect for my grandfather and what he accomplished, and to me, it was just a living example of people want to, can, and do make a meaningful impact despite whatever disability that they are living with in life. So, he was just a huge inspiration to me. Additionally, some of these complications— this is going back a few years— what we call coordinated care or managed care really didn't exist. So, there was a lot of disparity between the types of treatments my grandfather got. And oh, by the way, he took care of my two elderly aunts who lived in Philadelphia all throughout this. So, just a shining example.

Wow.

What a man. You know, yeah, he was just— so much respect. But he, you know, I saw what happens when, you know, the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. I was like, "There's got to be a better way." My mother, who was a nurse, same issue with cardiac issues and diabetes and ran into some significant trouble. So, I, you know, when I heard— I went to college in Philly, Temple University, and went to work paying medical claims. And when I learned about this evolution of managed care, I was all in because I saw the value. And I thought, we have to do a better job, you know, for my grandfather, my mother, for everybody. You know, healthcare, in my view, is a right. And we need to be able to coordinate care for people so that they have the best outcome. So it's very personal for me. And then throughout my journey in my career, I have always worked with the Medicaid population and the Medicare population. And for those outside the US, Medicare is a health insurance, if you will, for senior citizens, folks who are generally 65 and older, or who are eligible for it via a disability. And then additionally, there's Medicaid, which is another social safety net program that is really for individuals of low income. So I have always served these populations, and, you know, you really look at people and you look at the world very differently when you are interacting with people and understanding the many challenges that they're dealing with on a daily basis that maybe, you know, you or I may take for granted. So, you know, it's— you get more than you give when you work in this space. And, you know, the mission keeps it fresh and exciting. And at this point in my career and the evolution of healthcare in America, The fact that the focus is now treating the entire person. It's not, "Oh, you fell down the stairs and hurt your arm." It's, "Why did you fall down the stairs? Do you not have the appropriate accommodations in your home that make it safe for you? How easy is it for you to get help? Are you getting healthy food on a regular basis?" Do you have broadband access? Do you have transportation? So the fact that the U.S. healthcare system is moving in the direction to treat the whole person, it really does renew my enthusiasm and energy about the great work that we can do to serve people. So that's the backstory of where I've— I've come from. I joined what was once Gateway Health Plan back in 2019. We are now Highmark Whole Care, and I joined the organization as their Chief Operations Officer. And in that role, I, you know, made sure that areas, you know, answered phone calls for our members. We got the claims paid on time. Our members got their enrollment kits. All the technology work, was very focused on that, and then had the opportunity to assume the role as CEO in November of 2021 when our then-President Kane had left earlier in the year, had left. I was promoted into this role back in 2021. So, it's been an incredible ride since I walked into the building in 2019, but up and through now because there are so many exciting things happening and so many ways to touch and serve our members in a very positive way. It's really an exciting time.

Well, I'm glad that you told us this story because that just is why you are so passionate about people with disabilities. It's different when you have lived with people with disabilities. Boy, did that ever prepare you for the work that you're doing now. Ellen, Medicaid, tell us how that would impact people with disabilities who live in poverty.

So, Medicaid, you know, I'll just do my little public service announcement, you know. I think Medicaid adds just tremendous value. It's an incredibly important safety net program. I think what we all experienced with COVID really drove home that point. And now with the inflation that folks are experiencing just underlies it, underlies that, that much more importantly. But the Medicaid program here in Pennsylvania addresses what I would call kind of 3 aspects. There's the physical health, which, you know, I would call that the traditional health insurance program. I'll come back to that in a moment. Behavioral health, so for individuals who, you know, have mental illness or substance use disorders, programs to address those individuals. And then what we call Community Health Choices, which is a program to help members who can remain in the community and live their best lives. And that's one area where we have a significant population of disabled individuals, and just— there are tremendous programs and people out there working in that space. But within the Medicaid program, you know, individuals qualify for a variety of reasons, primarily income, and they work with the state in terms of selecting their medical plan provider. So, they would pick, of course, Highmark Whole Care. And we work across the spectrum of these different providers to ensure services for our members, and we provide non-traditional benefits, if you will. So, you know, if you are a disabled person, we can help arrange for transportation for you to get to your physician's office. Obviously, telehealth services, the care management services, coordination of activities across the different providers of services because many times individuals have more than one condition that they need treatment. And, you know, as I mentioned earlier, it's very important to make sure that all the clinicians that are involved are aware and can coordinate services across. So we facilitate that. We work very closely with the behavioral health providers. To make sure that, you know, an individual who may have a disability but also have a mental illness gets the appropriate care because many things work together. So it's really a very significant coordination effort across multiple providers. But again, the beauty of it is now we are looking at the whole person to make sure that they get the services that they need. And I would point out when I talk about the whole person, I'm talking about what we would call social determinants of health. And there are other factors outside an individual's physical state. So, even outside a person's disability, you know, let's make sure they have access to healthy food, secure housing, transportation, broadband. So, there are a variety of services that wrap around in the Medicaid space for our members.

And what would happen, Alan, if you have dual eligibility? How does that work?

So, if you have what's called dual eligibility, that means that you are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. And there are special health plans, they're called dual special needs plans, that work closely to coordinate care. So, what would happen is if you have— your Medicare coverage would handle the initial expense, and if there's any out-of-pocket left, that would be covered by the Medicaid plan. But again, it's an entire host of services that wrap around the individual to make sure that all the care is coordinated. Typically, when individuals are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, there's, in many instances, a disability involved. So, we also work directly with the individual, but in many cases, also with the caregiver. So, we establish what we call comprehensive care plan, which is an interdisciplinary team. Within the health plan and within the clinicians in the community that serve the member so that we're all working together to make sure that that person, you know, is able to live their best life, whether that's, you know, they have a particular goal in mind, they want to stay in the community and they want to stay at home. The care team wraps around them to make sure that they realize that objective.

Well, um, I want to say something here. You know, where the rubber meets the road in our world, disability rights world, is employment. First, we have Highmark, that the CEO David Holmberg and COO powerhouse Karen Hanlon and Mick Malek and Deb Rice and Larry Kliman and Cindy Hundorfean all are behind, you know, hiring people with disabilities. But I just want to tell you, Ellen made a point of arranging a meeting for me with her direct reports about employing people with disabilities and how she believes in it, but more importantly, they have, and they still are. So I'm telling you that story because What— how much do you cover? What area geographically do you cover, Ellen? Hi, Mark Holkins.

So, in Pennsylvania, we are in 57 of the 68 counties. Was it 58 of the 67 counties? We're almost in the entire state. Very limited areas that are fairly rural. And so, we're broadly across the state. We have over 365,000 members across the state of Pennsylvania. You know, it's very interesting, Joyce Bender, when you look at the different parts of the state that we serve, and this is an approach that we're really taking and refining and working very carefully with is, you know, what is an issue in Philadelphia, you know, may not be an issue in Reading, Pennsylvania, or York, or Allentown, or Pittsburgh, or Scranton. And so what we have been doing is really looking at, you know, some of the data, just straight-up data from the federal government, our own data. We work with the community-based organizations in our, across our service area And we look to understand, you know, what are the issues in their communities. So, when we come into a community to work with an organization, or we want to introduce a program or an intervention, we understand how to work with that community because we listen to their voice. And it's just so important. I'm sure, Joyce, you're familiar with English Health. Out of Philadelphia. We've been working with them with, you know, how do we establish programs in Pittsburgh to help people use 3D printing to get replacement parts for different tools that they use on a regular basis. So, it's, you know, we're broadly situated. We work very closely with our community-based partners. And, of course, I would be remiss if I didn't I mentioned, of course, our providers, our clinicians. I'm actually in Allentown. We met with St. Luke's here today to talk about how we can partner together, be more present in the community to help our members and actually others in the community live their best life. And it's been, you know, it's been incredibly rewarding. Again, I think you get more than you give when you're doing this kind of work, but you can really see the impact of the work that you do, particularly when you're, you know, as you said, boots on the ground or where the rubber meets the road, and you really understand the community of individuals with which you're working.

I know that many of you listening to the show, either you are Medicaid eligible or your family or friends are. So, you know, in our world, we have this thing: if a company hires people with disabilities, we're going to go buy, buy from that company. We support companies that are disability-friendly. So, Highmark Whole Care is that company when it comes to Medicaid, uh, and I would endorse them 100%. You want to go somewhere where the leadership believes in people with disabilities, cares about people with disabilities being treated equally with equity at the company. That is this company. So, if you're listening to the show and you think, oh my goodness, I want to tell someone this, remember Spotify, Apple, benderconsult.com, voiceamerica.com. You can go to any of those sites and listen to the show on demand and share the podcast with someone. But I'm serious when I say that. As a matter of fact, next year, Alan, I want to do more with you, uh, speaking, you know, to different disability groups. I so strongly I believe in this because you're really doing it. That's why. That's why I believe in this. You're really walking the talk. So, I just want all of you to know that and know how I feel. What is your website, Alan?

It's www.highmarkwholecare.com.

Highmarkwholecare.com. HiMark Whole Care, W-H-O-L-E-C-A-R-E. Make sure you go there, read about the company, tell everyone about what I talked about today so that we can get something moving. And Alan, even with changes to states' physical health choices and possibly the questions about public health emergency, Highmark continues to grow. Highmark Health continues to grow even under those circumstances. I wondered if you could talk about that for a minute.

Yeah, so, you know, I was at a conference last week and this pretty strong speculation is that the public health emergency is anticipated to remain in effect through the end of the year, but then at the beginning of 2023 that that that would be ended. And basically what that means is that for individuals who are eligible for Medicaid as a result of the COVID pandemic will need to have redetermination of their eligibility for Medicaid. In the state of Pennsylvania— you're not going to believe this number, Joyce— in the state of Pennsylvania, that would impact 750,000 individuals.

Oh my goodness.

It's probably a little higher than that now. So, very, very significant. So, what we've been doing at Highmark Whole Care and in conjunction with Highmark is to make sure that, number one, we've been calling all of our members who fit that profile who would be affected by this new— you know, with the reinstitution of redetermination to make sure that they understand what their options are. How can we help you with your paperwork? You know, if you don't believe that you're going to be eligible for Medicaid anymore, let's talk about what's available with the ACA plan. So, really trying to, I'll say, make it a smooth transition for individuals who are affected by that. And, you know, again, this was a topic, a discussion at a Medicaid Health Plan Conference that I was at. And many plans are taking a similar approach because the numbers are very high. So, we want to minimize any disruption for someone who's in the middle of a treatment plan. So, we want to make sure that there's that continuity of care and that people understand what their options are. So, very good question.

That is really scary, Ellen.

Yeah. It is. It is. You know, we're finding, I think I would say the good news is that many folks have found employment and, you know, don't need it anymore, which is great. And then there are other people, you know, that we refer to, you know, there's some ACA options and they can begin to examine those. But, you know, I just want to go back to what you were saying about the commitment at Highmark and Highmark Whole Care to hiring individuals with disabilities, and I think you mentioned— Nick said this earlier— it's good business. It's just good business. There are very talented people out there. You know, there's lots of opportunities and roles within our organizations that offer a diversity of opportunities for someone. If you, you know, like to talk on the phone with other individuals or customer service representatives, areas in information technology, claim processing. So, the opportunities run the gamut, but, you know, it is just good business. So, you know, just wanted to underscore that very important point, Joyce.

And I also want to mention to those of you who are blind, deaf, have a learning disability, mobility issues, speech impairment. I know you know what it's like if a website is not accessible. I just also want to tell you that Highmark Whole Care has a contract with our company to make sure their website is accessible. And so many of you, I know, live in poverty, and boy, the last thing you need is to try to enroll and then not be able to get into the company. So again, I'm telling you all this because I feel strongly about supporting people that support us. I live with epilepsy and I have a hearing loss. And like you, we need people that care about us and our lives. And that's why I feel so strongly about Highmark Whole Care. And as a matter of fact, our news break is right now, and I'm gonna talk to our newscaster about this in a moment, who is the CEO of Disability Rights of Pennsylvania, and I'm so honored to be on that board. Perry, Perry Jude Radostich, are you with us?

Hi Joyce, I am, and boy, if I could jump in here for a second and tell you, to hear Ellen say it's good business, I mean, I want to thank you for saying it, thank you for believing it, and thank you for carrying that message and leadership of employing people with disabilities to all of Highmark Whole Care. It's just wonderful to have your leadership in Pennsylvania and then to be hiring people with disabilities. Thank you so much.

And Perry is the CEO of Disability Rights PA, which is a protection and advocacy group, but she is for the entire state of Pennsylvania. And Perry, did you hear the part about, um, the people with— on Medicaid that will not be having the former help that they did? Did you hear that?

I did, Joyce, and again, I think it's a testament to Ellen's leadership that she's already thinking about, like, what comes next, and that next hasn't happened yet. And 750,000 Pennsylvanians who could lose their health insurance is significant. I will say the administration has been, you know, reaching out to lots of community organizations too. To help spread the message about redetermination and then to try to find other ways to keep people insured. But really for Highmark, for being so proactive and reaching out and helping people with their redeterminations is so significant so that people with disabilities can continue to access their critical healthcare services.

Absolutely critical.

And how do I know, Perry— I'm sorry, go ahead, Ellen.

One other thing that we have done which is important is we've gone around and met with our congressional delegation as well as our state legislators, you know, making sure that they were aware that this was on their radar. We did some special training around the special election period over the summer. We're going to come back around with training for them, for their district offices, because people are going to— so we want to make sure that folks are fully informed in terms of, you know, what does the close of the public health emergency look like and what are some of the options. I think it's really important to get the word out at multiple levels. Sorry, Joyce Bender, I didn't mean to butt in there.

No, that's all right. I was going to say, Perry, what you can also do is let people know about this podcast, which I know you do anyway, from an advocacy matter standpoint. But the thoughts of being in cancer or heart or whatever it is, or me, epilepsy, where you're having— if I'm very fortunate that medicine controls my seizures, but if you were a person going through a situation and, and you really didn't understand this was going to happen to you, wouldn't that be terrible? That would be really frightening to suddenly one day wake up and find this out. That would be terrible. So we got to keep getting that news out, Perry. We got to keep getting that out. In addition to all of this, Perry, what other news do you have for us today?

Well, Joyce, it's National Emergency Preparedness Month here in September, and FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, launched National Preparedness Month back in 2004 to educate and empower Americans to respond to all types of emergencies, including COVID-19. So building a culture of emergency preparedness is so important for all of us, and Look at this week, Puerto Rico just experienced the loss of power, severe flooding due to Hurricane Fiona. I know there are lots of organizations on the ground trying to assess the damage and, and help people with disabilities in Puerto Rico. And then we had Alaskan communities on the west coast of that state experience severe flooding due to a typhoon. And Joyce Bender: Just here in Pennsylvania, statistics show that 9 out of 10 floods happen outside that 100-year floodplain. So we all have to be concerned with emergency preparedness. Now, to help spread the message of being prepared, President Biden did proclaim September as National Emergency Preparedness Month, and the President has a plan on emergency preparedness that's very holistic, looking at climate change, wildfire preparedness, forest restoration efforts, investing in infrastructure like our power grid. So, lots of things happening at the national level. Advocacy matters, and, and we know disasters and other emergencies can happen any time. So, we all must be part of building this culture of preparedness The first step is to make a plan that includes any needs you and your family might have.

So, how do you do that?

Well, go to disabilityrightsPA.org, click on today's advocacy matters segment. That's disabilityrightsPA.org. We have so much information with links to National Emergency Preparedness Month and the Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies, which supports and helps people with disabilities throughout our country work on emergency preparedness. So, go to disabilityrightsPA.org and you can get all of this information, including how to make your own plan.

That is awesome. I'm so glad you shared that. And please, disabilityrightsPA.org, make sure you go. And, and Perry, sometime when you're up here in Pittsburgh, we'll go meet Ellen.

Oh, that would be lovely.

Thank you. That would be great.

That would be great. All right. Okay, thanks, Perry. Have a great day. Thank you for the news. We'll look forward to our news break next week.

Yes, thank you, Joyce. Take care.

You're— yeah, you're welcome. Um, I wanted to ask you, Ellen, you are so committed to the employment of people with disabilities Is it because of your family, the example you just gave, or what, you know, what caused that commitment?

I think, Joyce, you know, again, my family, my upbringing certainly laid the foundation for that. But over the years, working with the different members in the different organizations that I was at, you know, I look at the person and I see the whole person. And, you know, it is something that always is top of mind for me and something that I go, kind of a touchstone, if you will, I go back to just to refresh my commitment to the mission. But I, you know, My personal experience and my experience professionally has just been a continuation of examples of outstanding people with disabilities making contributions to the organizations in the community where they are. It really is— it's very powerful, and it keeps it very fresh for me. If you will.

Well, we once again thank you. And by the way, everyone, you should make sure you go to Pennsylvania Disability Rights, uh, pa.org, and go to Advocacy Matters, uh, and read about what we talked about today. And remember, everyone, to spread that news about Highmark Whole Care and Medicaid and what's happening because 750,000 people, that is absolutely a very scary thought. So I'm so glad we have your leadership, Alan, at Highmark Whole Care. But Alan, a lot of people with disabilities that are seeking employment have you know, 70% of people with disabilities are not counted in the workforce, which is horrible. You know, we need more high marks. But when you interview people, because I think it would be helpful to everyone to hear this, what do you look for? Like, what skills do you look for when you're interviewing people?

Certainly. Well, you know, first of all, it's, you know, what is the job, or role that that individual for which they're interviewing. So, certainly, if it's someone who is going to be working in our financial or accounting department, obviously, we would want to make sure that there's a proficiency with, you know, understanding accounting and how to use the technology. Technology is very important almost across the board, Joyce, in terms of We use a lot of it in how we deliver our benefits to members. So, first, we look at, you know, does the person have the— I'll call it technical skills to do the job, right? Then, you know, we want to make sure that our individuals are, you know, going to be a good fit for the organization. So, it's really just making sure that an individual is aligned with our mission, vision, and values in terms of, you know, how we like to conduct ourselves. So, you know, our values are things like do good, celebrate differences, have heart, right, embrace challenges. So, we're looking for those, you know, aspects in our candidates that they're going to come in and do a good job and be committed to the mission that we have. So really, it's first the technical skills and then, you know, how will that individual fit into our community at Highmark Whole Care.

Well, you know, and I'll tell you something, it's all about business. I always tell people it's not about business, it's about people want equal treatment. But, you know, people with disabilities, Mick Malek was talking about this today. Have incredibly high retention, and that counts to a company. So does gratitude. But just being there and appreciating work and being there every day is so important because that all translates to money and performance and success for any business that you are working at. And people are always so shocked when I tell them. They'll say, what do you want me to remember? And I'll say, be at work every day early with a smile on you. Smile on your face. And I'll tell them, now you may think that seems like, is that it? But I guarantee you, if you're at work every day early with a smile on your face, you already beat 60% of the non-disabled population. Do you agree with that, Ellen?

I completely agree. I am one of those habitually punctual people. And it's just, it feels good to start the day. And, you know, when you come in with a smile on your face, it's, you know, it just brightens everything up. And then knowing that you're doing the kind of work to support others is so important. And, you know, the other thing, Joyce, especially today in our, I'll call it our new normal, with the ability to telecommute, I think that's just opened up so many more possibilities for people. So, it really is, and it's still a great— there's still great ways to make connections with your colleagues at work. You know, we have teams that will bake cakes together or just kind of do a— I'll call it a happy hour or a coffee hour just to make sure that even if they're not in the office, they're making that connection. With their colleagues at work. So, it's a really terrific community. But, you know, to your point, you got to be there, you got to be on time, you got to be ready to go, and we want you committed to the mission.

Yes. And that is— I always say, if I would go to work and there's someone there every day early, who the heck do you think I'm going to think of as being dependable? That person. It just— that's just the reality of how that goes. You're just going to think about it that way. So, Alan, before I ask you one other— a couple other questions, I did want to ask you, uh, what impact do you think it has when, from David Holmberg to you to Karen, across the board, having people at the top supportive of employing people with disabilities. What difference do you think that makes? And do you think that when Larry Kliman was talking today— who, folks, that's the Chief Human Capital Officer— one of the things they were talking about is the culture that David Holmberg has created. What would you say about those two things?

So as it relates to the commitment by the CEO, the COO, the senior leaders of the organization, I cannot underscore the importance of that enough, Joyce. You know, it's one thing to say something, but, you know, people can hear your words, but Seeing your actions is going to change their beliefs, and changing people's beliefs is going to change their behavior, right? So if there's a commitment that is demonstrated from the top down consistently throughout all layers of the organizations and all of the multitude of— Highmark's a very big company, as you well know. There are many businesses that sit inside Highmark, but it's the same across all the businesses. But it really does— the tone at the top, matters and that cascades down. And then, you know, to the points earlier, it's just good business. We are hiring people that come to work, that stay with us, that are committed to the vision. So, you kind of create this, you know, virtuous cycle, if you will, that builds upon itself. And then, you know, as it relates to the culture at Highmark, You know, again, we are a mission-driven organization, and I think that's reflected in all the things that we do, including the businesses that we elect to go into, how we treat our associates inside our organization, and how we treat our community partners. So, it's really just, you know, the entirety of all of it. We were able to make substantial contributions to community-based organizations during COVID So, it's the enterprise walks the talk because the leadership walks the talk.

Yeah. I mean, and it has created this great culture. I mean, I always say I love Highmark. I love Highmark for many reasons. Of course, employing people with disabilities, But I'd like to say that it's also just a great company. And I can't believe how big Highmark has become. When I heard today that you have more employees than Starbucks, I almost fell off my chair. I thought, wow, how— when did that all happen? Because I do remember when you were small.

It's amazing, the growth. It really is. And I think that's a reflection of the leadership over the years, the innovation, the willingness to do things differently. I think that that's a reflection of all of that. I think we're a Fortune 50 company if we were public.

So yeah, that is amazing. That is amazing. Um, and, you know, that you've kept all of this commitment going says so much about a company your size. But Alan, you obviously were impacted in your life. It's evident by your attitude and your commitment to people with disabilities. Who is your role model?

My grandpa, you know, somebody that I just have so much respect for. The other is I went to the Catholic school all my life, so, you know, Mother Teresa and taking care of others and giving back to the community. Just You know, just a tremendous example of, of humanity.

Wow, what a great example too. Well, you've done a lot. You've done a lot throughout your career so far at this point, personal and work-wise. What would you say are your greatest accomplishments?

Oh, well, personally, it would have to be my family. I'm married 37 years to my husband, going strong. We've raised 3 terrific kids that are out in the community, you know, doing really well. So, I think that's, you know, personally. And then professionally, it's You know, I think it's no one thing. I mean, it's great to have the promotions. It's, you know, that's all wonderful, but I think, you know, what gets me out of bed in the morning and what keeps me going on a tough day is to focus on helping others and serving the community in a way that really does make a difference. You know, making sure people get to the doctor, making sure people have healthy food food to eat when they get home from the hospital. All those things make a difference. And the other thing I would add to that, Joyce, is just the ability to mentor others. You know, I remember when I was the youngest lady, young woman in the room, and, you know, someone helped me out. So, I always think it's very important to, you know, pay it forward and bring others with you as you progress in your career. So, I think the other thing that I am very proud of is just mentoring and developing other leaders.

And boy, doesn't that make a difference in everyone's life. Oh yeah. It makes a difference, including people with disabilities. And it has been absolutely so wonderful to have you on the show today, Ellen. But before we end the show, if you don't mind, if you could just uh, summarize quickly that if people are listening to the show right now and saying, oh my God, I, I've got to get in touch with them, how do they get in touch with you? Uh, and for people maybe that know people that are going to be in this situation that you talked about, you know, the 750,000 people, what, what should they do? What advice could you give everyone?

I would give them two pieces of advice. I think they could certainly go to our website, our website, Joyce, you know, www.highmarkwholecare.com, and you can search it and it should pop right up for you. And from there, you can navigate to call in and learn more about our programs. You could also call The state of Pennsylvania, they have a very robust set of enrollment services that individuals can also take a look at. So, they could just go to DHS.pa.gov, and they can also find information there as well. Those would be my two recommendations. Ask questions. You could also You know, talk to your local community-based organizations, the YMCA, Salvation Army, a district office of a representative. There's a lot of avenues there, but I would start with www.hymarkpolka.com.

And if you do go through any of these processes and you don't understand all of this, but you know one thing, you want to be with Highmark Whole Care. What do they do? Do they just tell that to the person? I mean, how does that work?

So, the first thing would be determine what you are eligible for, and basically, if you have a Medicare card in your wallet and a public access card in your your wallet, you may be eligible for what we call our Dual Special Needs Plan. So, again, you can navigate to our site, or if you think you may be eligible for our Medicaid program, what you would do is you would apply to the state Physical Health Choices Program. It's called Compass. And maybe, Joyce Bender, I can send you like a one-pager to share with your community. But you apply to Compass and then what you can do then is they have an independent organization that helps people select their health plan. And they would just— you just call the PA Enrollment Service Broker., and they will help you enroll in your new plan. I can give you that phone number if you're ready.

Yes. Yeah, go ahead.

Okay. So, the toll-free is 1-800-440-3989, and the TTY number is 1-800-833-2967. 4225. And that is— they are open from 8 AM to 6 PM Eastern Time.

Got it. Well, Alan, thank you again. And you know, Alan, we end every show with a quote. And when you hear this quote, you're just not going to believe who this quote is from. So, to everyone, this is our quote for the day: "Let us always meet and look at others with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love," said Mother Teresa. How about that, Ellen? How about that? Well, Alan, thank you again, and to all of you, I look forward to talking to you next week. And in the words of Mary Brooker, 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 development of Disability Matters right here on the Voice America Variety Channel. We are the leader in live internet talk radio. VoiceAmerica.com.