Health Net 1998 Annual Report Download - page 8

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6F O U N DATIO N HEALTH SYST EM S, I N C .
Cora Te l l e z
P resident and Chief Executive Off i c e r
C a l i f o rnia Division
Cora Tellez took over the helm of FHS’ California Division in November of 1998. Her main goal when she arrived
was to clarify operations by focusing Health Net associates on the “ vital few.”
Most recently, Cora served as president and chair of Prudential Health Care Plan of California, Inc., and for
more than 20 years, has held several executive management positions with some of the nation’s largest
health plans.
How would you characterize Health Net’s performance in 1998?
For too long,I believe Health Net focused its efforts on the “interesting many”and tried to do
everything.This was distracting, and kept us from addressing cost issues in hospital and pharmacy.
My goal is to focus Health Net on the “vital few”– we should then see improvements in Health
Net’s performance. Our charge in 1999 will not be on growth, but on fixing the problems that
hampered our ability to perform better in 1998.
W hat are the “vital few”?
The “vital few” is a term I coined when I first arrived at Health Net.After reviewing Health Net’s
performance over the last few years, I concluded that if the company could focus on just a few
vital goals, we could improve performance. Health Net’s“vital few”for 1999 focus on achieving
profitable growth, reducing the cost of care and reducing SG&A costs.
We made significant progress in achieving the “vital few”during the last quarter of 1998.I feel
confident that we’ve set attainable goals for 1999 that allow us to meet the performance expecta-
tions of investors, the marketplace and our members.
The health care environment in California is changing. How has Health Net reacted?
We have listened to the marketplace and we’ve responded.In early 1998, we introduced an open
access product that gives consumers greater choice.We’ve enhanced our direct referral program to
give consumers easier access to specialists.In the spring of 1998,Health Net was the first
C a l i f o rnia health plan to adopt an extern a l ,t h i rd party rev i e w program to ensure that our members
receive the care they need.And we continue to focus on quality, which was recognized this year