Learning & Development

Georgia Green has built her career in health care by following her personal and professional passions and letting intuition serve as a guide.

Early in her journey, her interests led her to value-based care, a methodology dedicated to improving the quality and reducing the cost of health care, while rewarding health care practitioners for investing in these efforts. At Moss Adams, value-based care is the underlying theme of the consulting services that she provides to health care clients.

“I’m drawn to what’s new—I couldn't do the same project every day, and there’s a lot of variety in value-based care. I love the opportunity to help clients with complicated problems.”

Inspiration is Intuition

Georgia didn’t start her career in health care; she was initially interested in microbiology, but soon found that the conditions in the lab weren’t for her.

“I enjoyed learning about genetics, plants, and microbial biology,” Georgia said, “but it was cold and my hands were damp all the time. Even though the work was interesting and could one day have some broader impact on humanity, I wanted more human interaction.”

In 2009, her instinct to work with people led her to enroll in a graduate public health program.

“My previous work flowed nicely into public health,” Georgia said. “It broadened from a microscopic view to a macro worldview as I became more interested in people and the societal conditions that produce health.”

Then, Georgia’s interest in health care took a personal turn.

“I was 26 when my father was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and passed away quickly,” Georgia said. “It all happened over the course of one summer. That was my first major experience on the patient side of health care, and it gave me a greater appreciation for the lives and struggles of each patient.”

The experience also exposed Georgia to the challenges of the Western health care system. “It became obvious to me that it could function much better than it does! That’s not to say that I wanted to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I felt compelled to help health care providers be the best they can be.”

Slowing Down, Staying Present

Georgia took her first step toward reimagining health care while working at a rural Critical Access Hospital in 2011. A colleague was launching a new company dedicated to assisting rural health care providers with navigating the complex administrative, operational, and compliance requirements of Medicare payment models, and she wanted Georgia to be the company’s first employee. Georgia carefully considered the pros and cons of the career move. Drawn to the prospect of helping a startup succeed, she accepted the offer.

This decision would become the most defining moment of her career.

“That’s when I learned about value-based care, which sends patients to cost-effective care providers without sacrificing quality,” she said.

"When you work with big data or talk about tens of thousands of lives, it’s easy to lose touch with the significance of health care for each patient and family. Value-based care brings it back to the people and aims to make the system work more efficiently for everyone, including the providers.”

With Georgia’s knowledge and leadership, the startup went from a concept at the founder's kitchen table to 180 member hospitals in the first three years. By 2016, she’d become vice president of program design and development.

But Georgia had also become a mother. The organization had grown to 100 employees, and Georgia’s instincts encouraged a slower pace to spend more time with her young child. She left the startup and opened a private consulting practice for value-based care, which meant fewer working hours.

“Everyone tells you that kids don’t stay kids forever,” Georgia said, “which I can see for myself now that my son is 10 and those years are gone. I'm glad I had a few years of playgrounds and toddler time. It was very restorative.”

New Chapter, New Synergy

At a client meeting in 2019, Georgia crossed paths with Karl Rebay, a partner at Moss Adams, and he asked if she’d like to join his team. Always open to growth and change, Georgia was captured by the opportunity to help a variety of clients through strategic challenges.

Once again, she followed her gut. Georgia joined Moss Adams as a manager. “The timing was great because my son’s first day of kindergarten was also my first day at Moss Adams. The stars aligned with both of us entering new phases of life.”

Now a senior manager, Georgia continues her focus on value-based care at Moss Adams by closely partnering with her clients to navigate new programs with complex payments and reporting processes.

“I really love when there's a new payment model and folks want help understanding how they work, what the requirements are, why they should do it, and how much money is at stake,” Georgia said. “Helping decision-makers think through opportunities and make the best decisions for their organizations is the most exciting part of my job.”

Clarity for the Future

Always drawn to what’s new, Georgia imagines a better future for health care providers and their patients—she can’t wait to play a role in that evolution.

“I’m committed to supporting long-term sustainability in health care and I hope that important programs such as Medicare and Medicaid are in place for everyone to benefit from, for many years to come,” Georgia said. “I believe that value-based care payment models and programs will continue to move forward until everybody's in them, and I’m proud to be a part of helping health care providers make this transformation.”

One thing is true: Whatever the future holds, Georgia will rely on her intuition to guide her path forward. As she reflects on the decisions that have shaped her career, it’s clear her instincts have often guided her in the right direction.

 “I'm sure I've made enough mistakes in life that I couldn’t say I’ve always had a good intuition. But it’s a skill just like any other, that you can develop and hone as you pay attention to it,” Georgia said. “I’ll always follow my interests and focus on what’s inspiring to me. I’m just grateful that intuition and luck led my career path to value-based care.”