AutoGov

AutoGov Lost a Colleague, Advisor, Hero and Great Friend

On Sunday at 5:02 am, Gary Gumbert passed away at his home in Cedar Park, TX.

Gary was a great American.  A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, he served his country for more than two decades as a pilot.

Gary went on to serve as the CIO at the Texas Health and Human Service Commission following a stint at MAXIMUS.

AutoGov engaged Gary to assist our efforts to gain control of our rapidly expanding technical infrastructure. His advice and counsel provide us with a much needed focus on our core offerings.

In recent months, Gary and his wife, Jackie, allowed me an opportunity to share some private time with him. Providing me insight into the life of this selfless man, Gary's words were those of one without regret who remained fiercely loyal - a true patriot - through his last days.

His struggle with cancer was a mighty one. He was fearless and fought back time and again over six years. 

He often referred to me as a "dragon slayer", as side by side, we fought together on a variety of fronts. I recently wondered aloud if he realized that he was my hero, the real dragon slayer. He shrugged and said simply, "No sir."

On April 23, 1910, Theodore Roosevelt made a speech in Paris, France entitled "Citizenship in a Republic." This excerpt from the speech captures much of how my friend lived his life.    

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

Gary Gumbert's face was always marred with dust, sweat and blood.  His victories where many and his failures few. He was a great man and a better friend.

You sir are my hero, the real dragon slayer.

Godspeed Gary Gumbert. 

Obituary

Running Ahead

Humorist and showman Will Rogers said “Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.”

 

This quote is the epitome of our technological world. Small businesses must keep trying to out run, out think, and out maneuver the corporate big dogs or risk getting run over.  Doing the best today isn’t going to be good enough for tomorrow.

 

Working for AutoGov, I have firsthand experience with continuously striving to be bigger, better, faster etc. The necessity for innovation and change is ever present and is the heartbeat of the small business.

 

AutoGov is a prime example of a successful company because we continuously mold and transform into what is needed. We aren’t stagnant and you can’t put what we do into a box. We determine the needs of our clients as well as our potential clients. We use our resources wisely. We stay up to date on trending technology and new innovations in our marketplace and use this information to create new and improved products and ideas.

 

With all of this said, you can’t have a successful company without a successful team. Independently, we are all strong but when a core group of people get together and brainstorm, implement action, and create a finished project, that’s when the company is at its best and a force to be reckoned with.  

 

I wanted to take the time to express my gratitude to everyone behind the scenes at AutoGov. In response to the quote “Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there”, I say, we are the leaders of life's marathon and keep on running team!

 

 

 

AutoGov at the University of Alabama's Business Analytics Symposium

"Be brave. You have to be brave." -Gregg Phillips on small businesses going for goals and challenges.

— AutoGov (@AutoGov) February 2, 2012

55% of all denials of eligibility of Gov't healthcare benefits comes from lack of data on the applications.

— AutoGov (@AutoGov) February 2, 2012

CaseVue - Simplicity isn't so Simple

Among the AutoGov accomplishments of which we are the most proud is the ease with which our customers can use our CaseVue software and adopt it into their business process.  CaseVue doesn't require a business process overhaul.  But it will have a huge impact on your business and your bottom line. 

Don't be fooled though.  Simplicity doesn't come easy.  CaseVue reflects years of business knowledge and subject matter expertise in Medicaid, program integrity,  eligibility, data analytics and risk management. 

 Check out our software.  A sophisticated back end that is easy to use.

 See for yourself.  We'd love to give you a demo.

Constant Innovation

We made a pile of mistakes during the development of CaseVue, our flagship software offering. 

In spite of all the warnings from consultants, books and advisers, we trudged through years of development without stopping to think about the next round of innovation. 

The result was a fabulous product that delivers massive returns on a limited investment for our clients. 

Good enough, right? Wrong. Even software as good as ours requires care and feeding, failure to do so renders the software outdated quickly.

I was reminded of this fact this week. Rocking along believing all is well, one of our lead technology advisers suggested a simple solution to issue related to efficiency and intellectual property. Almost on queue, our CEO, Rose Hayden, made a suggestion regarding our user interfaces and deployment that solved two major challenges that have faced our implementation teams.

Two innovative ideas in two days that hold the promise of solving problems that we had chosen to ignore.

Resources For Finding an Assisted Living Facility

                The search for the perfect Assisted Living facility for your loved one can be time consuming and confusing. With so many options, it’s hard to know where to start or how to begin to narrow down the search. There are many resources on the web for you to be able to check out and do research. We have gathered 3 websites that have important information to be able to make this process easier for you.

Memberofthefamily.net - http://www.memberofthefamily.net/

This website offers a rating system of 16,000+ Medicare/Medicaid- certified nursing homes across the United States. You can also look at a national watch list they have compiled. This can help you build a list of possible facilities and know which ones you should steer clear of.

AARP- http://aarp.us/wl1QsR

AARP is a valuable and respected site for senior citizens. The link above will take you to an article on “The “Do’s” of Due Diligence” concerning choosing a nursing home. Before you start the nursing home selection process, you should know what it is you are looking for and how to find it.

Medicare.gov - http://1.usa.gov/zuWwn4

Medicare.gov has compiled a detailed check list for you to be able to take it with you on your assisted living search. It offers questions to ask, reminders of what to look for, a detailed area for recording information gathered, and a rating system.

 

Hopefully these websites answer any questions you may have on choosing the best assisted living facility and make the process less confusing and less time consuming.

 

 

 

Believe

"Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind." Mary Ellen Chase

Forty-five years ago on Christmas Eve, I stood by a fish pond outside our home in a small community in the Philippines.

I believed in the Christmas story. Christ was born that night in Bethlehem almost 2,000 years ago.  I believed the light from our Christmas tree symbolized the light of Christ.

I believed in both Santa Claus and the spirit of giving.  The big guy was coming to my new house tonight, slide down the chimney and leave me some stuff. Not wanting him to be hungry on this long journey, I left him cookies.

Looking at the stars that night 5,000 miles from my home, I asked my Dad about the Christmas star. He told me that the star was a miracle that told the world that his Son was born that night. I believed my Dad. And why not, he was trained to navigate by the stars in case he ever got lost.
Every year since then, I go out to look at the stars on Christmas Eve. I think of my Dad. He found his way home 11 years ago. I think of the stars that have shown me the way when I've been lost. Lord knows I have been lost in darkness more than a few times. And I think of the greatest miracle of all, the one I learned about 45 years ago tonight.  

I still believe.

Merry Christmas from all of us to all of you!

Inspector General Introduces Provider Compliance Training Videos

Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, introduces OIG's compliance training videos and audio podcasts. This series will have 11 videos and audio podcasts that are part of the award-winning Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) Provider Compliance Training initiative. The videos cover a variety of healthcare fraud laws, common abuses, and what to do when a compliance issue arises. These presentations will be posted on the OIG website at the start of each week for the months of December, January, and February. These videos are part of the OIG’s Provider Compliance Training initiative.  AutoGov will post these videos as a series.

The Generosity Experiment

Once again, we find ourselves at the end of the year.  December seems to be the best time to take a snap shot of life, business, relationships, etc. and see how far you have come or grown throughout the year.

AutoGov and its employees have been blessed by having wonderful clients, a great business platform, and each other to work with on a daily basis.

We would like to not only take a “snap shot” of our life but focus on passing the blessings along. “The Generosity Experiment” by Sasha Dichter is a prime example of moving forward with generosity and remembering that life isn’t just about us.

Sasha Dichter: The Generosity Experiment from NextGen:Charity on Vimeo.

AutoGov Films: Joe the Caseworker

We are happy to finally announce that our long running "Joe the Caseworker" video has finally made its way to YouTube. Please watch and share our first of many video's to come.

Please don't forget to subscribe to our new YouTube Channel to get the latest: