He was a leading member of the Department of Health Systems and Process Improvement for a seven-hospital New York health system in New York City, and has published academic papers on topics ranging from emergency room stays to cryogenic lasers. Now, he’s working tirelessly to ensure the scalability and excellence of insurance operational processes. Meet Brett, Oscar’s Operations Manager.
Tell us a little about what got you on this path.
I am an intrinsically motivated person. Working on something that is meaningful and that I can be proud of was very important to me. I was having success in my career, but I didn’t like who I was going to become if I kept down the same path. I wanted to have more of a socially positive impact, be a part of building something great, and be challenged.
How did you first connect with Oscar?
Through LinkedIn and some of Oscar’s YouTube videos. The vision and drive to make healthcare simpler, more transparent, and more accessible got me really excited about the level of impact that Oscar can potentially have on the healthcare industry as whole. After a few conversations with my now current manager, I could tangibly see how, by joining Oscar, I would have the opportunity to be a part of making this vision a reality.
How would you describe the health insurance industry?
Broken, convoluted, unnecessarily complex. Well-intentioned, but poorly executed.
What do you see as Oscar’s role in all of this?
Oscar is a pathfinder. We are paving the way for others to follow and giving the platform for members to demand more and better from their insurance provider, whether that is Oscar or someone else. We are proving that the age-old excuses of why things can’t be done better are no longer valid.
What’s your own day-to-day like? (And how do you stay healthy and sane as you go?)
A typical day involves some cross functional problem solving and collaboration on the issue of the day, strategy development and planning on how we are going to reduce the likelihood of issues in the future, and reading on current industry trends and best practices from other industries that we can potentially apply. I try and exercise most days, either in an Oscar-sponsored league, by biking to work, or running, etc. The office is also always stocked with healthy snacks so it’s easy to make good choices that keep us sharp and feeling great.
