Brian Gartner graduated from Ohio State Undergrad in 2015. He graduated with a major in Actuarial Science and received a masters in Business Administration, with a healthcare Concentration from the University of Cincinnati. He currently works for CareSource as he leads and supports the Wisconsin Market. Previously, he has worked as a Pricing Actuary, Medicaid Rate Settling Actuary and Market CFO for the Georgia Market. He also previously work for Humana. Feel free to contact him at bgartner@commongroundhealthcare.org or 612-269-0709. 

How did you first become interested in actuarial science?

I always loved math and both my parents were pharmacists. I wanted to figure out how to mix healthcare and numbers. I shadowed an actuary during High School at Ingenix (now Optum) and I absolutely loved it.

How did Ohio State's program stand out to you?

I would say the community aspect. I was able to talk to prior professionals and get a good perspective of the different industries.

What do you love most about Ohio State?

Just being a buckeye and the pride that comes with that.

How were your interactions with other students in the program?

It was good! While I didn't hang out with them very often, it was nice to have go-to people and I met a lot of them while I was on apart of the actuarial club.

What role did OSU's program play in tackling the SOA or CAS exams?

They prepped me for FM and P. I think this is a huge opportunity for the program. I didn't start taking exams until Junior year because I didn't know about them. I really think getting to the students early, showing them study materials such as Coaching Actuaries, and pushing to be an accredited program so that you can get exam credit for achieving a certain grade in the class would be fantastic. That's where the puck is headed in this space. I wish I had that back when I was there.

Tell us about your internship experience.

I interned with Humana between my Junior and Senior year. It was fantastic. It led to a full-time offer and I was able to work remotely during my senior year to stay connected to the work that I would be doing as a FT employee.

In what ways did the program challenge you that you weren't expecting?

The amount of theory classes. While they are important, I really think sticking to the material for exams would have been better. I'd also recommend more computer science classes. Every actuary needs to be equipped with handling data.

What has been your biggest takeaway from the program? Was there any class or skill that stood out? How did the content prepare you for your role? 

The FM class was the best class that I took at OSU. It prepared me so well for the exam and it is an essential baseline information for future exams and work. My second favorite class was the seminar where we had speakers come in. I loved hearing about the different areas that actuaries worked.

How would you describe your work in actuarial science, and what excites you about the field?

I've done all of the traditional actuarial items - reserving, pricing, forecasting, but what I like is how dynamic it is. Health plan leaders lean on the actuaries to help them with how the business is operating and are thought of as thought leaders. That is really exciting.

Is there anything about actuarial science that might surprise someone new to the field?

How much data is involved. People always talked about it during school, but I never realized until I got into the workforce how critical it is. Data is everything. If you want to make data driven decisions, you need clean/accurate data and modeling.

Can you elaborate on your current role and typical things you encounter on a day to day basis?

I oversee our actuarial, analytics, and risk adjustment teams, but spend most of my team doing Ad-Hoc duties. I was brought in to help move our company forward and helped significantly with the M&A activity with CareSource and cost containment. 1/1/2025 forward, I've shed the actuarial, analytics, and risk adjustment teams because they are a corporate function. I am spending most of my time on plan performance and M&A activity - more strategy.

What advice do you have for current and future students?

 Pass exams early and during your internships absorb as much information as possible. LEARN LEARN AND LEARN. I'd also say - try and find your passions with work. Your job is a large portion of your life and you need to like what you do.