Ron Williams

“The basic premise of insurance is the pooling of funds from many to cover the costs of some. There are complicated methods for how to do this, but one fact remains consistent: For insurance to work well, people need to be in and stay in the insurance pool.”

“When I was a CEO, I thought I understood private equity. I didn't. And what I've learned since my retirement, and since becoming directly involved in the world of private equity, points the way to a new career path for thousands of talented senior executives - and a new engine for value creation.”

“Much of a leader's responsibility in creating a positive, high-performance culture is setting the right tone and acting on it consistently. That day-to-day execution - the tenor and tone - really makes the difference. One deviation - one exasperating meeting - and the CEO legitimizes bad behavior.”

“After much reflection, I have concluded that the federal individual mandate, which requires all Americans to purchase health insurance starting in 2014, will not be upheld.”

“In my experience, it is the leader - the CEO - who plays the crucial role in creating and 'owning' an organization's culture, setting the tone, and executing on that consistently.”

“In health care, you really need a balance of people who need health care today, tomorrow, and in the future.”

“Every morning, I have high expectations, and then I confront the reality of what happens at 4 o'clock.”

“There is no question in my mind that the health care system has to work.”

“I think about culture and values as curbs on a highway. When the curbs are high enough, a vehicle can veer to the left or right, but the curbs keep the car on the road. It is the CEO's job to build those curbs as high as possible.”

“I remain deeply interested in the transformation of the American healthcare system to improve quality and contain costs.”

“What we need are different types of insurance, some of which have copays, some that have coinsurance, but they need to offer a better first layer of coverage.”

“As consumers are being asked to pay more of the cost of healthcare services, they will increasingly demand more value and will also ask for more transparency and tools to determine the value they are receiving.”

“Younger participants in the exchanges and who purchase individual insurance paid more, and they just didn't see the value, and therefore, they did not come forward and sign up.”

“Having no choice doesn't result in innovation and performance improvement.”

“The ACA's reliance on mandatory participation in exchanges as the only way to obtain a health insurance subsidy is fundamentally flawed.”

“My belief is that a positive culture works best because people want to meet or exceed expectations, not demands.”

“I believe in the power of a positive, high-performance culture, which begins with strong ethical values at the core.”

“If an individual sticks up a bank and walks off with $25,000, there are consequences. If someone who really could have had an insurance policy consumes $25,000 worth of health care, everyone else pays for that.”

“I've been on record since 2005 saying we need to find a way to eliminate the use of the pre-existing condition. The way to do that is really to get everyone in the insurance pool, and that way, we'll have people who need health services today, some who need it tomorrow, and some who won't need it for quite some time.”

“We must find a way to cover those who are no longer healthy but need care.”