By Bill Rusteberg
“Do we have a Francisco Ybarra working for us?” asked the Sister. “Yes, he’s our grounds keeper” replied Maria in HR. “Ok, tell him Friday is his last day!” said the Sister of Charity……..“Now about this renewal offer……”
In 1973 I was a new hire at Blue Cross of Texas. My first experience in delivering a renewal was to Mercy Hospital in Brownsville, Texas. My boss went with me.
The renewal was a hefty premium increase. Back in those days our renewal formula was fully disclosed, a mathematical calculation showing details including pooling factors, load factors, etc. It was an actual copy of the underwriter’s work product, clear as day.
Since I was a newby, my boss took charge of the meeting. “Sister, we have a difficult renewal this year. We are looking at a large increase. As you can see, it’s driven, among other things, by high claims. One claim alone is having a major impact” said my boss.
“Who is that?” asked the Sister. When informed, she hit the button on the intercom and said “Do we have a Francisco Ybarra working for us?”
“Yes, he’s our grounds keeper” was the reply.
“Ok, tell him Friday is his last day!” said the Sister of Charity
She turned to my boss and said “Now about this renewal offer……”
Remembering What’s Left of the Mercy Hospital (valleycentral.com)
