The Arab American News - page 6

6
sahtak - June 2010
By M. Kay Siblani
Editor
D
aniel Loepp is a man on a
mission. As President and
CEO of Blue Cross Blue
Shield of Michigan, he is committed to
making Michigan a place with health-
ier people, healthier communities, a
healthier economy and a healthier
health care delivery system.
That's no mean feat, as Loepp told
the Arab American and Chaldean
Council earlier this year in a speech
to the group's Board of Directors. But
it is good news for this ethnic com-
munity. The speech itself exemplifies
a major strategy Loepp is using to ac-
complish his goals, that of reaching
out to the Arab American and
Chaldean communities to facilitate di-
versity and inclusion in the company's
internal and external operations.
"Times have changed," he said.
"That cannot be disputed. Prior to
2000, Michigan averaged an increase
of 58,000 jobs annually. Thirty years
ago, when the ACC was in its infancy,
General Motors employed more peo-
ple in the City of Flint than it does in
the entire U.S. today.
"The Blues are changing as well,"
Loepp said. "We have been evolving,
making necessary changes to serve
our stakeholders. BCBSM's Enhance
Health Care Value strategy initiatives
have realized $350 million in savings
in the past four years by working in
partnership with providers to im-
prove how health care is delivered,"
Loepp said. "Blue Cross is finding
ways to run our business better, be-
coming leaner and quicker and saving
$231 million in internal costs in the
last 2 years."
Loepp said the company is com-
mitted to Michigan. "We don’t see
Michigan as a market, Michigan is
home for us. We live here.We em-
ploy 7,000 Michigan people. We put
back hundreds of millions of dollars
into local economies through work
with Michigan companies – including
enterprises owned by minority part-
ners," he said. A native Detroiter,
Loepp is well-steeped in the region's
business culture. He is a member of
the board of directors for the Detroit
Regional Chamber and served as its
2007-2008 board chair. Loepp was
also chairman of the Chamber's suc-
cessful 2007 Mackinac Policy Confer-
ence. Under Loepp's leadership, the
2007 Mackinac Policy Conference fea-
tured a wide array of prominent
speakers. He was instrumental in se-
curing national labor leaders, General
President of the International Broth-
erhood of the Teamsters James Hoffa
and President of the United Auto
Workers Ron Gettelfinger. It was the
first time in the conference's history
two labor leaders were keynote
speakers.
But Loepp admitted that changes
have to be made in the way business
is managed. "We start with our own
culture. A major part of our cultural
transformation centers on diversity
and inclusion. Those efforts have led
to BCBSM engaging the Arab Ameri-
can and Chaldean communities in a
different way. Historically, our pres-
ence in this community has been one
where Blue Cross was known by the
checks it wrote.And we are proud to
have sponsored events like the ACC
annual dinner. But, as we work on
changing our company for the better,
we are also changing the dynamic of
our relationship.We are committed
to being active, visible and engaged in
conversation about what matters
most to you.That means being there
to listen and hearing what you have
to say.We’ve been doing that through
a series of what we call "Let's Talk"
meetings."
Communicating so effectively
comes naturally to Loepp. He has an
undergraduate degree in communica-
tions and a master's degree in politi-
cal communication, both fromWayne
State. He says the conversations he's
been having with the community have
allowed the Blues to broaden under-
standing of the Arab and Chaldean
markets and the unique health care
needs in the community.
"We've learned where opportuni-
ties exist for outreach between
BCBSM and Arab/Chaldean commu-
nities; how to be more responsive to
the community's needs; that we need
to knock down language barriers; we
need to establish links with pharma-
cists serving this community; we need
to strengthen ties with Arab and
Chaldean families; and we need to
consider vendor relationship possibil-
ities."
BCBSM is focused on serving the
Arab and Chaldean communities by
doing things like providing informa-
tion in Arabic language formats and
identifying physicians who speak Ara-
bic in their provider directories. The
company is also increasing outreach
through targeted relationships such as
engaging the pharmacy community by
working with the American-Arab
Pharmacist Association and collabo-
rating with the National Arab-Ameri-
can Medical Association and Metro
Solutions to promote health aware-
ness and screenings
In customer service the group is
looking at the creation of a 1-800 line
with trained, bilingual specialists. "We
are expanding cultural competency
training for Blues employees who in-
teract with members of the Arab and
Chaldean communities, whether in
sales, customer service or other
areas," Loepp said.
As for issues affecting small busi-
nesses, Loepp says, "As former CEO
The Blues:
Committed to
diversity and to
healthcare reform
Mr. Daniel Loepp, President and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan,
addresses the crowd.
1,2,3,4,5 7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,...48
Powered by FlippingBook