[00:00:00] Speaker A: Today we'll look at some of the best practices that have earned health insurer Premera Blue Cross the Compliance Leader Verification Recognition from Ethisphere. I'm your host Bill Coffin and this is the Ethicast.
Premiera Blue Cross is a not for profit Blue Cross Blue Shield licensed health insurance company based in Mount Lake Terrace, Washington, United States. United States. It provides health insurance and related services to approximately 2 million people in Washington State and Alaska.
As a prominent not for profit health insurer, Premera holds itself to the highest standards of ethical behavior. It sees doing the right thing as a shared responsibility woven into the organization's deep and ongoing commitment to integrity and maintaining a culture of compliance and ethics.
The company's ethics and compliance program clearly reflects this as well, which is why Ethisphere has recognized Primera with a coveted Compliance Leader verification designation for 2025 through 2027 of their program. Etosphere's COV review team was particularly impressed by the strength of Premier's Regulatory ethics and Compliance team and its leadership, as well as its continued investment in training and communications, the development of a highly effective compliance and Ethics Champion program, and the strengthening of monitoring and control functions. Together, these elements demonstrate a disciplined, forward looking approach and a clear commitment to to embedding compliance and ethics into the fabric of the organization.
With us today to talk about Premera's program is Sven Petersen, Vice President of Compliance Ethics and Regulatory Services and Corporate Compliance and Ethics Officer at Primera Blue Cross. In his role, Sven ensures the overall effectiveness of Primera's compliance and ethics programs and leading regulatory strategy. He co founded Primera's Data and Artificial Intelligence Ethics Committee. He serves as a board member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Data and Technology Oversight Committee, and he is a member of the Office of the Insurance Commissioner AI Advisory Board. Sven founded Primera's Ethical Leadership Academy and is a frequent speaker on the ethical and responsible use of AI as well as business ethics and culture. In addition to his work at Premera, Sven teaches ethical leadership in the MBA program at the University of Washington Foster School of Business.
He serves on the advisory boards of the center for Business Ethics at Seattle University's Albers School of Business and Economics and the Seattle University Online Cybersecurity Leadership Program. And if that wasn't enough, Sven is also the Chair of the board of Mwanzo, a charity that operates a school health clinic and agricultural and economic empowerment programs in Rabor Village, Kenya. Sven, welcome to the Ethicast. Thank you so much for joining us today.
[00:02:48] Speaker B: Thank you Bill. It's great to be here the compliance
[00:02:51] Speaker A: leader verification doesn't just recognize a high level of program maturity. It also acknowledges the long term commitment to ethics and integrity that got the program to that level. So can you talk about Primera Blue Cross's own journey over the last few years that raised your ethics and compliance program to its current state?
[00:03:07] Speaker B: I would say three things. The first is the importance of just knowing your purpose. So as you mentioned, Premier is a nonprofit health plan and our purpose is to make healthcare work better. So that's foundational to everything that we do.
I will say that a few years ago, about six years ago, we did run into a number of compliance issues and problems.
And solving those problems required systemic work across the company and a lot of good teamwork. And I'll say that although you never want to run into compliance issues and problems, this was actually a really good thing in retrospect because it reminded everybody at the company of the company that we are and aspire to be, and the importance of our ethics program and the importance of ethics and compliance to the company. And so that actually, you know, in retrospect, that that was great. That really helped us to deepen that commitment and to become, I would say, more self conscious of the commitment.
And so that leads to my second point, which is really having broad support from the top of the company and from across the company, and teamwork across the company. Right? Ethics is a team sport. It's not something that I can do alone or my team can do alone. It's a team sport. So we have great support from our CEO. He's really the sponsor of our ethics and compliance program ultimately.
And we have close cooperation from other teams, right? Everyone from employee experience, audit business leaders and sales and product and across the company. And that is just absolutely critical to the growth of our program and the success of the program. And we're led not just by me, but by a compliance and ethics committee, which is made up of leaders from across the company in every division in the company. And they really helped me to oversee and run the ethics and compliance program. And, you know, they keep me honest as much as it works the other way.
The final thing that I'd say is the importance of external parties and learning from external parties. So an example is all of you, of course, at Ethisphere and the other companies that are members of Bella. So we've learned a ton. We've networked with lots of companies and we picked their minds on things and learned from them, and it's been incredibly useful. I'd also say learning from Your customers on what they value, learning from the regulators on what they value and how they see you. That can be very helpful, sometimes painful, but ultimately very, very informative. And then participating. You mentioned some of the other activities that I and others do, but participating in community organizations, so external ethics boards, the teaching, the other types of things that gets you out in the community. And you hear from community members and you learn from them on what they value and what they're looking for in a company like ours. So I would say those three things have really helped our program over the last few years to get to where we are and where we're going.
[00:06:14] Speaker A: What are some of your program's biggest successes that you feel have made an especially profound impact upon your organization and or represent the way in which ethics and compliance is part of Primera Blue Cross's wider business strategy?
[00:06:27] Speaker B: Yeah, thanks, Bill. I would say three things.
The first is knowing the business, right? You really need to know the business, see around the corners, understand what's coming. We're in a highly regulated industry, so understanding the political trends, understanding what the business is trying to accomplish, the business strategies, and really being embedded that way in the business so that you can see. So, for example, about five years ago, we established the AI governance that you mentioned earlier. And at that time, you know, LLMs were not really a thing yet, as hard as that is to imagine, but we saw what was coming and so we were able to build ahead for that and anticipate it. And that leads to the second thing, which is a deep integration with the business and leadership by the business of your ethics and compliance program.
So that's everything from the AI governance I mentioned to the intake of new business initiatives and product review and product feasibility and all of these different processes. At Primera, we embed ethics and compliance right from the beginning. And it's business that's leading that as much as it is myself or my team. And I think that's absolutely critical.
And then the final thing I would say is the broad and deep engagement across the company. So I've talked a lot about the leadership and business leadership and so forth, but, you know, we have a great champions program, for example, and that engages people who are at the individual contributor level and people who are in early stages of leadership. And we invest a lot in our champions. We train them and we empower them. We give them real work and real assignments to drive the ethical culture across the company in every division. And that's one where we learned a lot from other Bella companies.
We really picked up and learned A lot from folks and copied the great ideas.
So that's one piece. The last piece I'd say on that is we also have an ethical leadership academy that we've built over the last few years and it focuses on everybody in the company and teaches ethical leadership lessons. And that's from the CEO on down to our individual contributors who have participated in and learned from that program. So it's that investment at every level and then involvement of every level in the company and it just comes back to that. Ethics is a, is a team sport.
[00:09:01] Speaker A: We all know that ethics and compliance efforts have no finish line and there's always a future state to reach for. So can you share what your vision for your ethics compliance program is for the near future and perhaps how your current achievements have made that vision an achievable one?
[00:09:16] Speaker B: Yeah. So I think we've really laid a great foundation and I do have two thoughts, both internal and external, of where we go now in the next few years. So from an internal perspective, right. I see our business leaders as playing an even more central role.
And so we're continuing to transform and embed ethics considerations and compliance in the culture throughout.
Here's how I know we're on the right track. So a few weeks ago I was talking to one of our IT leaders and he's instrumental in our AI applications, right? Really, really thoughtful individual. And we were talking about how we're reviewing some of the IT initiatives, AI initiatives that we're putting in place. And I explained to him my thoughts and then he says, you know, Sven, I, I don't think that's enough. I think some of these are different in some ways that, that you know, you're not accounting for. And I think you need to push deeper here and we need these kinds of considerations and follow on effect considerations as part of the review.
And he said, you know, a year ago, I really didn't believe you about the importance of AI governance. And I said, but I've, I've completely changed my mind.
And what I loved about this bill is he's pushing me in the shoes on the other foot now. And that's when you know that you've really embedded ethics in the culture is where other leaders are picking it up and running with the baton. So that's excellent.
The other thing I'd emphasize is external looking, continuing to deepen our community involvement. Right. And really building on the strength of the ethics and compliance commitment and linking that to our business purpose of making healthcare work better in the eyes of our stakeholders and the External community.
And so really building on that to deepen community involvement. So I think we've laid a great foundation both by involving our folks at all levels of the company and by educating them and by working with our external stakeholders. And I just see that as deepening and growing over the next few years. That'll be great for Primera, but it'll be really good for the overall community as well.
[00:11:38] Speaker A: There are companies out there that are seeking to earn a recognition, like the compliance leader verification for their program, or who are simply looking to make program assessment part of their overall maturity journey. So based on your experience, what words of encouragement or advice might you have for them?
[00:11:53] Speaker B: Yeah, well, first of all, I'd say, look, this has been a great journey for Premera, and earning the certification has been really good for Premiere. It's pushed us, it's helped us to see opportunities that, you know, we may not have. Have fully seen on our own. And it's given us that external mirror to, to look in and, and to better ourselves.
Three pieces of advice I'd have. The first is this is a team sport, so you've got to really know your business and be a partner to your business. Right?
Understand the business, their needs, their strategies, how you can help them, and the importance of compliance to them. Right? So that may be understanding how it impacts the customers and others, but really be a partner. The second thing is external parties are also great partners, and that can be folks like you all and other members of Bella or other companies in your industry or other industries, really networking. Find out what others are doing and learn from them. It's also your regulators, it's also your customers, members of the public. So really hold that mirror up to you. Even though at times it can be a little bit painful, but it's incredibly useful. And then the last thing that just builds on that point is be involved in the wider community.
Business ethics is about ultimately not just our own businesses, but it's about being responsible partners in the community as a whole and improving the communities that we live in and that we serve. So be part of that wider community, learn from them and make the world a better place. So that would be my advice. Bill, I think it's been a great journey for us.
We've learned a lot and I think we're in a much better place than we were several years ago. Not that we're in a bad place then, but we've grown and it's been really good for Primera and its customers and community.
[00:13:44] Speaker A: Well, Sven, it's been great to speak with you about Premera's ongoing excellence in action. So thank you so much for sharing your insights with us today. And once again, congratulations to you and to your entire team. To everybody at Primera for the Compliance Leader Verification. It's always earned, never given.
[00:13:59] Speaker B: Thank you Bill. Really appreciate your time today. It's been great working with all of you and looking forward to much more going forward.
[00:14:06] Speaker A: To learn more about the great work that Sven and his colleagues are accomplishing at Primera Blue Cross, please visit the Ethics and integrity
[email protected] we'll include a direct link for that in this episode's show Notes. To learn more about the Compliance Leader Verification program and to see how well your ethics and compliance program compares to that of your peers, visit ethisphere.com solutions thanks for joining us. We hope you've enjoyed the show. For new episodes each week, be sure to subscribe to us on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. And if you haven't already, please follow Ethisphere on LinkedIn to learn more about how we help organizations strengthen and improve their ethics and compliance programs. Together, we can make the world a better place by advancing business integrity.
That's all for now, but until next time, remember, strong ethics is good business.
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