Helping to make health care reform R.I. reality

DEEPLY ENGAGED: As Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island’s point person on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Monica Neronha has had to work inside and outside the health insurer to help create new health-insurance products and awareness about what the law means for consumers and businesses. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
DEEPLY ENGAGED: As Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island’s point person on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Monica Neronha has had to work inside and outside the health insurer to help create new health-insurance products and awareness about what the law means for consumers and businesses. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Nothing has shaken up the health care industry more than the passage of the Affordable Care Act. But Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island has a secret weapon for navigating the complexities of health care reform – Monica Neronha, vice president of legal services.
“Monica really, fundamentally understands the health care environment in Rhode Island and the role that Blue Cross & Blue Shield plays,” said Michele Lederberg, Blue Cross’s executive vice president, general counsel and chief administrative officer. “She knows how we can make a difference.”
Neronha joined Blue Cross nine years ago, after spending six years as in-house counsel at BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont. She’s taken on many leadership roles at the company over the years – from lobbying to managing the agency’s anti-fraud unit. But she says her responsibilities over the past few years have been her most challenging – and rewarding – yet.
Ever since March 2010 – when President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – Neronha has spearheaded the effort to help Blue Cross comply with the law. That means interpreting the law – all 2,000 pages of it – as well as the tens of thousands of pages of regulations that have been added to it. And it means leading the more than 200 Blue Cross employees tasked with implementing health care reform at the company.
“It’s a constant relearning of the requirements of the law,” said Neronha. “It’s impacted every aspect of Blue Cross & Blue Shield’s operations: our technology, our policies, how we interact with customers and what products we sell.”
And it’s not just an internal project. For example, Neronha played a central role in establishing Rhode Island’s health-benefits exchange, HealthSource RI. She served on the exchange’s expert advisory committee, acting as a liaison between state officials and Blue Cross. The task involved hundreds of hours of meetings to design a program that worked for insurers and benefitted consumers.
The process saw several bumps along the road, according to Peter Andruszkiewicz, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island’s president and CEO, but Neronha’s leadership helped build a successful system.
“It hasn’t gone as well in other states, and where those health insurance exchanges aren’t working, it’s a mess,” said Andruszkiewicz. “Party because of Monica’s work, we have a very functional system here.”
Neronha also played a key role in demystifying health care reform for the Rhode Island community at large. Last year alone, she conducted 40 educational presentations with various nonprofits, employers and individuals.
“There were days I did three presentations in a day, talking to different people and helping them understand how this would impact them,” Neronha said.
With federal and state agencies still refining the Affordable Care Act’s requirements, Neronha expects the implementation process to continue over the next three to five years – possibly longer. But for her, the hard work is well-worth the reward.
“It wasn’t always sunshine and roses, but people in Rhode Island can buy health coverage through HealthSource RI and see a doctor – it’s a really big deal,” she said. “We have a lot of people now who have insurance that couldn’t afford it before.”

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