Legislative and Regulatory Update
Join GAHU On May 26th at 9am for a special webinar featuring a Georgia Legislative Update and a Federal Legislative Update
2 hours of GA Continuing Education Credit Applied For
Speakers:
Annette Bechtold, CIC, ChHC, REBC
SVP, Regulatory Affairs and Compliance
OneDigital
As senior vice president of regulatory affairs and reform initiatives, Bechtold is responsible for health care reform initiatives, compliance, and strategic development at OneDigital. She advises, educates and supports OneDigital’s overall corporate tactics and client support issues. She joined OneDigital in 2005 as vice president of operations and was later promoted to senior vice president of operations and strategic development before taking on her current role.Annette Bechtold brings 35+ years of experience to OneDigital.
Prior to joining OneDigital, Bechtold has held other sales, operations management, and executive positions with Member Insurance Agency in Illinois and Georgia and John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance in Illinois. She was named "Employee Benefit Adviser of the Year" by Employee Benefit Adviser magazine in 2010. In 2019 Annette was honored with the Distinguished Service Award from the national chapter of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), and the Kathy Cruce Award, the highest honor bestowed by Georgia’s NAHU state chapter.
A graduate of the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, Bechtold earned a bachelor’s degree in finance, specializing in insurance and risk management. She’s a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), a Chartered Healthcare Consultant (ChHC), and a Registered Employee Benefits Consultant (REBC). She is licensed in life, health, property and casualty. She is a past president and current legislative chair of both the Atlanta Association of Health Underwriters (AAHU and the Georgia Association of Health Underwriters (GAHU). She is past chair of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU)’s legislative council and a current member of the legislative council’s employer working group, prescription drug task force, surprise billing working group, Compliance Corner committee, Principal’s Council, and the Futures Advisory Council.
Don Bolia
Principal
Peachtree Government Relations
Don Bolia is the founder and principal at Peachtree Government Relations. He provides industry leaders with strategic advice on legislative trends and assists them in shaping policy debates at the state, federal, and local levels in Georgia.
Don manages clients’ relationships before the Georgia General Assembly, as well as numerous city and county governments and agencies. His background and experience give clients an edge in conducting business with local governments. Becuase of his key relationships at the municipal level, his clients are able to clearly communicate their message to key players. Don began his political career working for Congressman Newt Gingrich in Washington D.C. In 1991, he was appointed the Political Director of the Georgia Republican Party. In that capacity, he was directly responsible for managing the GOP’s statewide effort to elect Republicans to the Georgia General Assembly.
In 1993, Don was appointed Chief of Staff of the Fulton County Commission. During his first weeks in office, Fulton County, Georgia’s most populous county, cut taxes for the first time in a decade and the chairman’s office returned over $180,000 in savings from the chairman’s budget alone. Don was responsible for directing the chairman’s agenda and working with the Board of Commissioners. In 1994, Don was appointed the executive director of the Georgia Republican Party, during an election cycle that saw Republicans win six state-level offices for the first time since reconstruction, including insurance commissioner, superintendent of schools, and a majority of the seats on the Public Service Commission. Don was also the president of D&B Communications, a government affairs and public relations firm he founded in 1995. In 2005, Don was made the director of Government Affairs for the Atlanta office of Hunton and Williams and in 2007, he was hired as the director of government affairs in the Atlanta office of DLA Piper.
In 2010, Don founded Peachtree Government Relations. In 2017, Don was recognized as one of Georgia's Top Lobbyists by Insider Advantage and was inducted into the Lobbyist Hall of Fame by James Magazine. Currently, Don is the Chairman of the Decide DeKalb Development Authority. He is also the Chairman of Joint Development Authority of Metro Atlanta. Don is the former Chairman of the Southeast Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation and currently serves on the advisory board for the Georgia Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation. He also served on the Brookhaven Zoning Board of Appeals. Don is married to Kate Williamon Bolia and they have three dogs, Beauregard, Bella, and Montana Rye. Don is an avid marathon runner who is halfway through running a marathon in every state.
Tickets
$0.00 GAHU Member
$20.00 Non Member
