REPORT FROM HMAA – Hawaii Medical Assurance Association (HMAA), one of Hawaii’s largest Preferred Provider Organizations, has named Reg Baker its new executive vice president. John Henry Felix was elected chairman, president, CEO and secretary-treasurer.
Gail Hannemann was elected as director and vice chair, and Warren Price III was elected as director. William McCorriston was newly elected as director, filling the vacancy created by the passing of Fred Trotter in 2011.
“Reg has the vision, leadership and experience to help HMAA provide outstanding wellness services to our members and to achieve our founder’s vision of providing a highly valuable, diverse selection of products and services tailored to the needs of Hawaii’s small businesses,” said Felix, referring to
HMAA founder, Arnold Baptiste, Sr. Baker will continue to lead HMAA’s value-added division, which includes Business Alliance Hawaii and Wellness Alliance Hawaii, and explore other opportunities for HMAA to bring additional value to its approximately 40,000 members. Baker will also remain strongly involved in HMAA’s sales and marketing efforts on Oahu and the neighbor islands as HMAA seeks to engage members in its cutting-edge programs like HMAA Wellness for Life, which helps the more than 3,400 employers it serves to create vibrant, healthy workplaces by reducing employee stress, time lost to illness, and health-related costs.
Felix has been a leader in business, government, community service, education, diplomacy, philanthropy and humanitarian endeavors internationally, nationally and locally. He has held 18 federal, state and county board positions over the past 50-plus years, serving three U.S. presidents, six Hawaii governors and six Honolulu mayors. He currently serves on the boards of the Boy Scouts, Red Cross and March of Dimes and is the chairman and CEO of Abilities Unlimited, which supports individuals with physical, mental and developmental challenges. He also currently serves as a member of the Hawaii Long Term Care Commission. His leadership as chairman, CEO and president of HMAA earned him Hawaii’s Business Leader of the Year award from Pacific Business News in 2011.
Hannemann is currently the chief executive officer of the Girl Scouts of Hawaii, directing and leading Hawaii’s largest girl-focused organization. Hannemann spent 15 years in the nation’s capital as a professional staff member of a U.S. House of Representatives legislative committee. She also served as vice president of corporate development at SMS Inc. and as project director of the American Samoa Economic Advisory Commission established by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
Price has more than 30 years of experience in Hawaii’s legal community. He served as Hawaii’s Attorney General under Gov. John Waihee. Price is an AV Peer Review Rated Attorney, the highest designation awarded by the Martindale-Hubbell Service. Experienced in all aspects of state and federal court litigation, he is currently the senior partner in the firm of Price Okamoto Himeno and Lum.
McCorriston is the founder and a current partner of McCorriston Miller Mukai and MacKinnon. He has been named one of Hawaii’s Top Lawyers by Honolulu Magazine and one of the Best Lawyers in America. He served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice and as president of the Hawaii State Bar Association. He also holds memberships in the State Bar of California and the District of Columbia Bar.
HMAA has always been known as Hawaii’s leading provider of health insurance benefits for small and medium-sized businesses, and it provides large employers with superior health benefits as well. HMAA’s comprehensive medical plans include alternative benefits such as acupuncture, chiropractic and naturopathic care, as well as life insurance, wellness programs, and dental, vision and prescription drug riders. It offers the best medical plan option for sole proprietors in the state. HMAA’s benefits and rates can be customized for any company. More information is available at www.hmaa.com.