Many people have a choice in their health care options. With millions of members, UPMC Health Plan is a great example of that. Recognizing that choice is a very real option. UPMC is working to identify the issues and concerns that are important to its members. We are focusing on the value of doing business with individuals who look like the patients and customers we insure and execute at the highest levels the requirements of our contracting agencies their needs for diverse vendor participation. An example of this focus includes my recent testimony to the Veterans Affairs subcommittee of the Pennsylvania Senate on our support for legislation increasing the amount of and support for diverse and veteran-specific business done by the Commonwealth. The pending legislation will impact how UPMC Health Plan conducts business with state-managed Medicaid and Medicare customers, and customers have voiced their opinions to their representatives. With 92,000 plus employees at UPMC, we also have many internal UPMC customers — I call them “Team Purple” — who have an important voice as well. It’s important that their values, goals, and needs also are part of our overall conversation on supplier diversity. We aim to further educate, inform, and empower them to understand the capacity they have in vendor options inclusive of diverse vendors by working with our team and Supply Chain Management.