The rising cost of health care is one of the biggest challenges facing Americans today. Between 1996 and 2015, health care spending in the United States rose over a trillion dollars. And there is no end to this trend in sight. Locally, businesses and patients certainly feel the pressure. So do insurers and providers who are trying to innovate and find ways to keep costs down while remaining competitive and effective.

Edgardo Tenreiro knows this first-hand. Edgardo is President and CEO of Baton Rouge General, which has facilities on Florida Boulevard in the mid city area and its main campus on Bluebonnet Boulevard. The General, as it’s known in Baton Rouge, has a long and venerable tradition in the market dating back to its founding in 1908. In the years since, it has grown to include the two main campus and multiple satellite facilities, including freestanding emergency departments and acute care clinics, around the Capital region. Edgardo has been CEO of Baton Rouge General since 2017, having joined the system in 2008 and overseeing many of its major functions such as physician relations, clinical quality, patient satisfaction, and financial performance.  

Kerry Drake is President of Employee Benefits at BXS Insurance, a brokerage firm with 31 offices in eight states that specializes in commercial insurance, employee benefits, surety and private client services. Kerry is a 40-year veteran of the insurance industry who is passionate about healthcare costs, particularly where pharmaceutical companies are concerned.

Photos over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard by Karry Hosford.