Nassau Standard

Alyssa Cangemi has eight years of experience working in the health insurance industry. Originally, she started in the data management department as a business project analyst for the insurance company Cigna but later transitioned over to the special investigations unit. As her career progressed she found herself needing a better understanding of how health law and policies worked. While researching educational opportunities she came across Hofstra Law’s Online Master of Arts in Health Law and Policy program.

“I looked through the curriculum and a lot of it related directly to what I do now,” she says. “It gives a broad perspective on the health care world and not just insurance but health care laws, policies and regulations. A lot of that is helpful for my job but it’s not necessarily something that was provided during training.”

Flexible Online Courses

A great aspect of the Health Law and Policy program is that it is 100 percent online. This makes it easier for students that work full-time to learn wherever they are located.

“The program allowed me to do it on my own time. I would do some stuff after work but I also was able to do it on the weekends. That was a huge reason why I chose the Hofstra Law program.”

“I had the ability to do it anywhere. There was a point in time where I had a week-long vacation but I was out of state. I was able to bring my computer with me and still do the Zooms and complete my assignments on time,” she says. “I think if I had to do it in person it would’ve been very difficult. The program allowed me to do it on my own time. I would do some stuff after work but I also was able to do it on the weekends. That was a huge reason why I chose the Hofstra Law program.”

Learn From Different Perspectives

Students in the Health Law and Policy program benefit from being surrounded by classmates with different work backgrounds. Having students with varying perspectives on topics being taught helps to create practical and insightful classroom discussions.

“Sometimes there were things I was not well versed in,” she says. “Someone else in a different sector would provide their perspective or opinion on a topic. I wouldn’t have gotten that if we didn’t have all those different backgrounds in there. That was really helpful.”

While in the program, Cangemi expanded her health care network by connecting with other students. “I remember there was a pharmaceutical representative and a nurse who worked in health care administration,” she says. “I have a few people on LinkedIn that I kept connections with outside of the program. I think that was probably my favorite part, all the different backgrounds and how they were all seeking the same information but for different things.”

Supportive Learning Environment

Whether it is having a question about classes or career services resources, both administrators and professors at the Law School are committed to students’ success in the program.

“My advisor would reach out to me frequently, she was always there if I had any questions about the program or classes,” she says. “It was not just by email but there were phone calls as well. When we were working towards the end of the program she reached out to see if anyone wanted to walk in the graduation ceremony. She was super helpful.”

Her professors also created an environment where students were encouraged to ask questions and share their insights on topics. “The professors were all great. The responses to questions were pretty immediate,” she says. “Oftentimes there were live Zoom sessions held once a week for almost every class that you were encouraged to attend. That was our opportunity to ask questions and interact with the class. Even though it was online it still was very involved by all the staff.”

Career Enhancement

For Cangemi, the Health Law and Policy program has taught her many skills that have given her a step-up in the health care industry and in her current position as senior investigator at Cigna.

“The degree showed me how to analyze different regulations, policies and the knowledge of case law. I think a lot of peers don’t necessarily have that unless they have some sort of a law degree.”

“The degree showed me how to analyze different regulations, policies and the knowledge of case law. I think a lot of peers don’t necessarily have that unless they have some sort of a law degree,” she says. “We have attorneys that assist us but it’s really nice being able to know what they’re doing and where they’re coming from versus not really fully understanding what they’re saying.”

During her time as an investigator she has assisted internal counsel with producing documents necessary for litigation and provided a grand jury testimony for a federal criminal case against a nurse practitioner. In her current role Cangemi handles interviews, data analysis, report writing along with fraud investigations. The degree has given her new insight on the different processes health care providers go through to get things approved.

“Learning the piece of the process that health care providers have to go through is very helpful,” she says. “Having that background and knowing what is required on the provider side helps me do my job better versus just going through the motions and checking off boxes step-by-step.”

Since graduating from the program in 2019, Cangemi is “still interested in the health care industry but more so the legal side.” She is currently pursuing a certification program to become a certified fraud examiner.

“I like investigation and problem-solving work,” she says. “I think the degree will help me even if I choose to go the investigation route outside of health care. In the fraud examiner exam, there’s a law section and a lot of that I can touch back on what I’ve learned already from the program. I don’t know what role specifically I’m going to go for in the future but I know that the industry that I’m interested and involved in that information will translate very well.”

Original source can be found here.