America's Benefit Specialist December 2023

A CONVERSATION WITH JESSICA BROOKS-WOODS, CEO OF NABIP

W elcome, Jessica! As the new CEO of NABIP, your journey into healthcare is undoubtedly of great interest to our members. Could you share a bit about your background and how you entered the healthcare sector ? Jessica Brooks-Woods : Thank you for having me. My path into healthcare was a blend of professional development and personal calling. It began with an internship at High mark Blue Cross Blue Shield through INROADS, an organi zation dedicated to providing corporate internships for mi norities. My role at Highmark’s subsidiary, Alliance Ventures, focused on onboarding a diverse range of staff, from clinical to administrative roles, in their primary care division. This experience laid the groundwork for my professional entry into healthcare. However, my connection to healthcare runs deeper and is more personal. It traces back to witnessing my grandfather’s battle with cancer. That experience opened my eyes to the complexities and emotional weight of healthcare delivery. It was a mix of confusion, pain, and loss—a stark introduction to the realities of healthcare. Furthermore, as an advocate speaking on the American maternal mortality crisis, I often share my experiences and the challenges faced during childbirth. These stories are not just mine; they echo my mother’s harrowing experience as a new mother, a narrative that mirrors the disproportionate risks faced by women, especially Black women, in mater nal healthcare. This has instilled in me a relentless drive to

address and rectify what I see as systemic failings in our healthcare system. My journey took a brief detour into the defense industry, but healthcare’s compelling nature drew me back. The tran sition from the Bush administration to the Obama admin istration,—with a strong focus on healthcare—reignited my professional and personal interest in the field. It was during this period of change, as I embraced motherhood, that High mark reached out for my return. Returning to Highmark was like stepping into a whirlwind of transformation within the healthcare industry. With major initiatives like the integration of delivery and financing sys tems and significant mergers and acquisitions on the horizon. I found myself at the epicenter of a dynamic and evolving landscape. The passage of the Affordable Care Act only added to this period of significant change and disruption. It’s clear your journey into healthcare is both deeply per sonal and professionally driven. Your move to the Pitts burgh Business Group on Health was quite a significant shift in your career. How did you find yourself transitioning to this role? Would you say it was a natural progression of your work? Jessica Brooks-Woods : Indeed, the transition to PBGH marked a pivotal chapter in my career and, in many ways, it was a natural progression, fueled by a blend of strategic fore sight and a personal drive to make a deeper impact. In my tenure at Highmark, I was deeply involved in several mergers and acquisitions, a period of intense consolidation in

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