Leveraging Enterprise Risk Management as a Crisis Response Tool: A COVID Story
Christine Packard
Director of Enterprise Risk Management, Administration and Finance, University of Massachusetts
Christine Packard talks about Leveraging Enterprise Risk Management as a Crisis Response Tool, applied to the specific instance of COVID 19. With two decades of experience in crisis response prior to working at the University of Massachusetts, she has in-depth expertise on managing crisis. Christine shares how the foundation of effective crisis response is built upon the collaboration betweem existing networks of different disciplines. She details how the structure supports effective crisis response through consistent meetings of stakeholders; which builds partnership and awareness of each other's respective positions, as well as improved health and safety measures. enrollment, staffing and finance. An ongoing sharing of information allows comprehensive mitigation strategies and keeps the board of trustees informed.
*The views and opinions expressed in the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) blogs/podcasts are those of each respective author/speaker. The views and opinions do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of PRIMA.*
Christine Packard
Director of Enterprise Risk Management, Administration and Finance, University of Massachusetts
Having spent more than 15 years in the field of emergency management, including seven as the deputy director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, Christine joined the University of Massachusetts in August 2019 as its first dedicated director of enterprise risk management. In her role as ERM director, Christine is responsible for the system-wide enterprise risk management program, working with the five UMass campuses and the system office to identify and assess risk impacting the UMass system, and ensuring implementation of mitigation strategies.
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Minimizing Pharmacy Plan Costs
Lisa Stamm
Vice President, Consulting Services, Sherrill Morgan
Lisa Stamm discusses minimizing pharmacy plan costs. She explains how the pharmaceutical industry presents some of the most complex and expensive costs for companies that sponsor health plans.
The main role of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) is to facilitate transactions when a member fills their prescriptions at a pharmacy. There are four traditional ways of how a PBM is compensated. The first method includes adding a cost to every prescription that is processed. The second is rebate retention, which is retaining all the rebates that plans receive when members use their prescription drugs. The third way is by obtaining the part of the co-pay that was higher than the cost of the prescription, and the fourth is in a traditional structure by being a part of the mail order process.
Lisa shares the problems of a traditional model and the benefits of pass through as an alternative, which is when a PBM is given a fixed and controlled administrative fee. She also explains how focused an employer should be on pharmacy rebates, mail-order and the co-pay structure with regards to prescription drug management.
*The views and opinions expressed in the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) blogs/podcasts are those of each respective author/speaker. The views and opinions do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of PRIMA.*
Lisa Stamm
Vice President, Consulting Services, Sherrill Morgan
Summary of Qualifications
Lisa is a graduate of Northern Kentucky University and the University of Cincinnati College of Law. She has been with Sherrill Morgan since 2005 and manages health and welfare benefit plans, particularly in the self-funded arena. As a licensed attorney, she can consult clients regarding applicable state and federal laws regarding health plans. She is also available to answer questions regarding compliance with applicable laws, including federal health care reform, COBRA, ERISA and HIPAA. Lisa is also an expert and featured speaker on regulatory issues, particularly as they relate to health care reform. She has been a member of the Kentucky Bar Association since 1992.
Responsibilities
Lisa is the VP of the consulting division. She and her team oversee all self-funded groups. She is the primary contact for regulation, compliance, and health care reform issues and questions. She has an outstanding track record in reducing and maintaining plan costs. Her vast experience makes her invaluable to her clients.
Business Experience
Lisa has been with Sherrill Morgan since 2005, and she has worked with a wide variety of clients in that time including both public and private employers in Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
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Where Are They Now: Carl Amritt
Carl Amritt
Analyst, District of Columbia’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency
Carl Amritt shares best practices for new risk managers and his takeaways from the 2018 PRIMA Annual Conference. Carl then delves into lessons learned since he entered the field of risk management post-graduation and since his Annual Conference experience.
Carl’s advice for new risk managers is to create a risk awareness culture within your organization, as he provides several methods to implement to achieve this goal. He also speaks on how other PRIMA resources greatly benefit his work, including how his attendance at PRIMA's ERM Training helped him understand that enterprise risk management is embedded in different areas within an entity.
*The views and opinions expressed in the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) blogs/podcasts are those of each respective author/speaker. The views and opinions do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of PRIMA.*
Carl Amritt
Analyst, District of Columbia’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency
Summary of Qualifications
Carl is an experienced public policy and government relations professional with subject-matter expertise in national security, violence prevention, risk management, intelligence, emergency management, disaster resilience and law enforcement.
He currently works for the District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, where he manages the Threat Assessment Center, a city-wide effort focused on providing threat assessment and management services to city residents. Before joining the District of Columbia, he worked at the National Governors Association, a bipartisan membership group of governors from the 55 states, territories, and commonwealths, where he provided policy analysis and developed data-driven, evidence-based solutions to address state homeland security challenges.
Carl holds a master’s in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in political science from American University, where he graduated with honors. In addition, he has the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, among other certifications from FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute and the International Organization of Standards.
Responsibilities
Founded a city-wide threat assessment and management program to provide resources and support for individuals before they mobilize to violence. Develops standard operating procedures for a multidisciplinary team consisting of law enforcement, public health, education, youth services, and others to guide agency threat assessment and management efforts.
Develops grant proposals, budgets, project schedules and performance metrics for federal grant opportunities valued at more than $1.5 Million with multi-year funding commitments to support the threat assessment and management program. Monitors and tracks national and city violence prevention initiatives to identify opportunities to advance the agency's strategic goals.
Provide project management, technological and implementation support on the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Training Program for more than 5,500 individuals within local law enforcement, faith-based institutions, public school system and higher education institutions. Serve as a subject-matter expert on targeted violence prevention and perform stakeholder management across government, non-profit, religious and community leaders.
Business Experience
District of Columbia Homeland Security & Emergency Management Agency
Program Analyst
National Governors Association
Senior Policy Analyst
Interim Program Director
American University
Assistant Director, Global Safety
Special Projects Coordinator, University Police
Roosevelt Institute, Campus Network
Policy Coordinator
ERM Experience
Carl has used ERM in his previous role serving as assistant director for global safety at American University. In this role, ERM was an important framework for understanding the risk landscape for students, faculty, and staff traveling abroad.
Carl currently uses components of ERM within his current work in threat assessment and management at the District of Columbia’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. In this role, he develops policies and systems to prevent and mitigate the impact of targeted violence.
Professional Affiliations
- Counter-Terrorism Prepardness Network, Threat Analysis Subgroup
- Roosevelt Institute, Campus Network - Alumni Board of Advisors
- Project Management Institute
Education
American University, School of Public Affairs
- Master of Public Administration, May 2019
- Bachelor of Science in Political Science, May 2017
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Strategic Business Partnerships – Risks, Rewards & Results
Dalene Bartholomew
Vice President, VRC Investigations
Dalene Bartholomew talks about the risks, rewards and getting positive results of strategic business partnerships. She explains how organizations utilize outsourcing of service providers to reach their goals, specifically for the insurance industry. She also delves into how outsourcing a variety of providers allows insurance to focus on their competencies. Some examples of service providers frequently utilized are TPAs, medical bill review services, defense councils and investigation agencies.
Dalene then breaks down the difference between vendors and business partnerships, the positives and negatives of multi-partner models and preferred vendor relationships, the five points why preferred vendor relationships are on the rise, and the solution to balance out the pros and cons by creating a core of providers but keeping the processes open.
She provides her top three tips for an organization to create mutually beneficial out relationships:
- Clarity around goals and mutual commitment
- Communication that’s frequent, transparent and collaborative
- Selecting the right long-term provider
*The views and opinions expressed in the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) blogs/podcasts are those of each respective author/speaker. The views and opinions do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of PRIMA.*
Dalene Bartholomew
Vice President, VRC Investigations
Summary of Qualifications
Dalene is a thought leader and forward-thinking senior executive with a 20-year record of success. Recognized speaker, author, certified fraud specialist, creator of relationship-based partnerships, regulatory compliance officer, vendor program developer, board member, expert witness, licensed DOI education provider and collaborator. Dalene was awarded the inaugural “Fraud Fighter of the Year” by the Anti-Fraud Alliance, is a fraud regulatory compliance expert, serves as a fraud advisory council member and is an expert in vendor program management.
Business Experience
Dalene has a 20-year record of success as a senior executive in the investigation and fraud regulatory and compliance industry. Certified fraud specialist, creator of relationship-based partnerships, regulatory compliance officer, vendor program developer, expert witness, and licensed DOI education provider. She is an expert witness and serves as board advisor and past board chair with various organizations.
Professional Afilliations
- CFE - Certified Fraud Examiner
- CIFI - Certified Insurance Fraud Investigator
- Volunteer on ACFE Advisory Council
Education
- BS Business Management, Capella University
- Licensed Investigator in multiple states
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Where Are They Now: Nicholas Esty
Nicholas Esty
Professional Liability Account Executive, Risk Placement Services
Nicholas Esty was a PRIMA Annual Conference Scholarship recipient in 2017. He speaks on the education sessions that stood out to him at the 2017 Annual Conference as well as some of the other activities that were offered. He emphasizes how the conference provided an overall educational and fun experience that also led to great networking opportunities.
Nicholas describes how he got onto the risk management/insurance track in college, and what drew him to the industry as he started to become more and more connected. He shares how the people he met, the potential for upward mobility and openings for younger professionals within the industry were significant factors in his decision making.
*The views and opinions expressed in the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) blogs/podcasts are those of each respective author/speaker. The views and opinions do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of PRIMA.*
Nicholas Esty
Professional Liability Account Executive, Risk Placement Services
Summary of Qualifications
- Double major in Finance & Business Mgmt with RMI track
- USLI 50/50 Sales Program
- 2018 WSIA Intern
- AINS - Associate in Insurance
- AIS - Associate in Insurance Services
Responsibilities
Currently, Nicholas handles small renewals and new business accounts for Risk Placement Services' professional liability team, including E&O, D&O, EPLI and cyber. This entails working with both retail agents and company underwriters to ensure that the accounts are marketed for the best coverage and premium for the insured. Nicholas makes sales calls and follows up on new business quotes to help win accounts and retain customers.
Business Experience
Nicholas worked in the Unum Scholars program in various roles for two years throughout college. He interned with Nationwide E&S in Scottsdale, Arizona and Worldwide Facilities in Los Angeles, California to experience the carrier and broker side of the wholesale and specialty insurance business.
Nicholas recently completed a two year sales training program, called the 50/50 program, where he worked as a marketing representative for his office at RPS while receiving sales training from USLI. During this program, he held virtual meetings and made sales calls on behalf of his company to bring in new business submissions and train retailers to use USLI's instant quoting platform. Since completing this program in November 2021, Nicholas has changed roles to join the professional lines team to handle renewal business and small new business submissions.
Professional Affiliations
Gamma Iota Sigma
Education
Bachelor of Science - University of Southern Maine (finance and business double major w/focus in risk management and insurance)
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Where Are They Now: Debolina McClellan
Debolina McClellan
Vice President and Sr. Product Manager, Galaxy Digital
Debolina McClellan was awarded the PRIMA Annual Conference Student Scholarship in 2014. You'll hear her experience attending the conference and the benefits of her mentorship. She also speaks on the networking opportunities provided by the conference and how they influenced her career journey.
Debolina currently works at Galaxy Digital, which specializes in cryptocurrency investment. She recounts her experience transitioning from traditional finance into cryptocurrency and her thoughts of PRIMA's potential in getting involved within the cryptocurrency field and how she's been able to contribute to the field of risk management.
*The views and opinions expressed in the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) blogs/podcasts are those of each respective author/speaker. The views and opinions do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of PRIMA.*
Debolina McClellan
Vice President and Sr. Product Manager, Galaxy Digital
Responsibilities
With Galaxy Digital, Debolina works closely with the CFO and COO in developing the company road map and product strategy. She works with the finance team to gather requirements on strategic solutions, finance and accounting management systems and the automation of existing manual processes. Debolina also works with the operations team on post trading process improvements involved with settlements and transfers, break analysis and data reconciliations. Other responsibilities include serving as a liaison for clients, vendors and exchanges to enhance the company's existing infrastructure and processes while sourcing data through API.
Business Experience
Debolina is an innovative and proactive techno-financial-product management professional with over 9 years' experience in delivering digital assets, financial regulatory process and digital transformation initiatives. She has been working at Galaxy Digitial senior product manager/vice president for almost one year. Debolina worked six years with Bank of America as delivery lead/senior data-business analyst and technology operational risk and reporting officer. Other companies Debolina has worked with include Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Ltd., RCC-Ventures, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), etc.
Education
- Advanced Professional Program in Business - NYU Stern School of Business, NY, USA
- MS in Financial Risk Management - University of Connecticut School of Business, CT, USA
- MBA - Institute of Public Enterprise (IPE), Hyderabad, India
- BTech in Computer Science & Engineering-West Bengal University of Technology, Kolkata, India.
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Artificial Intelligence And Modern Claims Handling
Karl Miller
Assistant Vice President, Sales & Compliance, American Computer Estimating, Inc.
Karl Miller shares the three models of artificial intelligence (AI): predictive, proactive and problem solving, while providing examples of how technology facilitates these processes as it relates to claims. He also shares how AI improves the overall claims experience for the claimant and claims professionals. Specifically, Karl speaks on how AI can help target the number one complaint of claimants and providing better means of prompt resolutions, data management and accuracy.
However, while the implementation of AI has many benefits, there’s always a risk when introducing new technologies. Karl shares the ways to mitigate the increased risks and fraud.
*The views and opinions expressed in the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) blogs/podcasts are those of each respective author/speaker. The views and opinions do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of PRIMA.*
Karl Miller
Assistant Vice President, Sales & Compliance, American Computer Estimating, Inc.
Summary of Qualifications
Karl has 25 years in the insurance claims industry, managing partnerships with hundreds of insurance companies and offices nationwide, including a number of municipal pools and transit agencies.
Responsibilities
Karl manages relationships with insurance industry/claim professional partners nationwide. His duties include development and incorporation of best practices for claims handling on behalf of ACE's partners, troubleshooting issues and working with other third party vendors/partners to provide exceptional claims handling.
Karl is also responsible for keeping business in compliance with legal changes (legislative and judicial) affecting the claims industry and keeping partners informed of such matters.
Business Experience
Karl has 25 years at American Computer Estimating, a vendor to the automobile and property claims industry which provides claims handling services nationwide, currently serving as AVP of sales and compliance. He has spoken at numerous industry events on topics affecting the claims industry, including presentations on issues such as diminished value, legislative changes in the automobile claims industry, impact of judicial decisions on claims handling procedures, etc.
ERM Experience
Public Risk, PRIMA's national magazine, published a case study “How Fort Worth Drove Down Workers’ Compensation Costs While Getting Injured Employees Better Care” documenting how IntegerHealth's analytics drove down the City of Fort Worth’s costs by 23%. There was a similar article by D Magazine about how Fort Worth used these analytics entitled “Doing the Impossible: Better Care at Lower Costs.”
Education
- B.A., La Salle University, 1980
- J.D., Pace University, 1984
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Anatomy of a Lawsuit
Scott Roloff
President, IntegerHealth Technologies
Scott Roloff explains the "ins and outs" of lawsuits and emphasizes the probability of encountering a lawsuit in one's life, whether summoned as a juror, giving a testimony, or as a plaintiff or defendant. He also delves into alternate solutions to a lawsuit, seeing as the best options are typically those that mitigate or eliminate costs and complexities.
For the circumstances where a lawsuit cannot be avoided, Scott provides a step-by-step breakdown of a lawsuit’s process, what to look for when selecting the best lawyer, different case classifications and the phases of a trial. He also defines the differences between attorney-client privilege and confidentiality obligation, as well as gives in-depth information about the process of jury summoning.
*The views and opinions expressed in the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) blogs/podcasts are those of each respective author/speaker. The views and opinions do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of PRIMA.*
Scott Roloff
President, IntegerHealth Technologies
Summary of Qualifications
Scott is both a CPA and a lawyer, uniquely blending financial, legal and operational experience. He is also a certified management accountant, certified internal auditor and chartered global management accountant.
Responsibilities
Scott is the president of IntegerHealth Technologies, which combines advanced analytics with medical expertise to quantify healthcare outcomes‒driving down the costs while improving the care for health plans and workers’ compensation programs.
Business Experience
Before joining IntegerHealth as one of its co-founders, Scott was the CFO or general counsel for companies in the healthcare, software and telecom industries, and he also led a wireless technology start-up in the Caribbean. Prior to going into industry, Scott was a corporate partner at the international law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld where he focused on M&A, SEC and general corporate matters.
ERM Experience
Public Risk, PRIMA's national magazine, published a case study “How Fort Worth Drove Down Workers’ Compensation Costs While Getting Injured Employees Better Care” documenting how IntegerHealth's analytics drove down the City of Fort Worth’s costs by 23%. There was a similar article by D Magazine about how Fort Worth used these analytics entitled “Doing the Impossible: Better Care at Lower Costs.”
Professional Affiliations
American Bar Association (ABA)
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Institute of Management Accountants
Texas State Bar
- Federal District Court‒Northern District of Texas
- United States Tax Court
Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants
Education
Scott holds a BBA in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin‒Whitewater, an MBA from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a J.D. from Southern Methodist University (SMU), where he was the valedictorian of his law school class.
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Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: Pitfalls of Diagnosis and Treatment
Fernando Branco, MD, FAAPM&R
AVP of Claims and Chief Medical Officer, Midwest Employers Casualty
Dr. Fernando Branco details how to diagnose complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) as well as the difficulties that are associated with the diagnosis. For instance, he explains that it is not uncommon for CRPS to be mis- or over-diagnosed and that, to avoid an inaccurate outcome, a diagnosis should be made months after the acute stage. Dr. Branco further delves into the diagnosis process by discussing the tools used during examination as well as risks associated with potential treatments and medications implemented to combat CRPS.
*The views and opinions expressed in the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) blogs/podcasts are those of each respective author/speaker. The views and opinions do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of PRIMA.*
Fernando Branco, MD, FAAPM&R
AVP of Claims and Chief Medical Officer, Midwest Employers Casualty
Fernando is chief medical officer at Midwest Employers Casualty (MEC), a Berkley Company. He has over 30 years of experience in clinical practice and is board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation, pain, and addiction medicine. He is the former medical director of a multi-disciplinary rehabilitation pain center for the treatment of chronic pain cases – a center of excellence recognized by the American Pain Society. In his current role at MEC, Dr. Branco leads a team of medical management consultants handling complex workers’ compensation claims to help employers and injured workers achieve better outcomes.
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Methods for Agencies to Mitigate Media Inquiry
Richard Spiers, CPCU, ARM, ARe, AIC
Claims and Risk Management Consultant, Spiers Consulting, LLC
Richard Spiers explains which events are more prone to capturing the media's attention, such as police cases, city employee accusations and specific characteristics of a community that may be viewed as significant. He offers examples of what type of videos grab the highest attention, how the media selects who to contact and the best response tactics, even in instances where not all of the information is readily available. He also emphasizes how handling the media can be improved through internal communications training, public discussion and building better relationships with the media before an incident occurs.
*The views and opinions expressed in the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) blogs/podcasts are those of each respective author/speaker. The views and opinions do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of PRIMA.*
Richard Spiers, CPCU, ARM, ARe, AIC
Claims and Risk Management Consultant, Spiers Consulting, LLC
Richard has been in the insurance industry since 1980 and was a claim executive in the reinsurance and excess marketplace since 1985. He was with Genesis Management and Insurance Services for over 20 twenty years. He is currently doing claim consulting work. Richard has extensive experience handling the wide array of claims faced by public entities, K-12 school districts and the higher education sector. Based in Chicago, he has also worked for Transamerica Insurance Group, Northbrook Excess and Surplus Insurance, CNA and Allstate Reinsurance. He is a graduate of Northern Illinois University, a member of the Society of CPCU, and holds associate designations in risk management, claims, and reinsurance. Richard has been developing and presenting insurance industry-related training sessions to a variety of client and industry groups for over 25 years.