Women & Business April 2017: Laura N. K. Miller

Laura N. K. Miller is Associate Counsel for UPMC Health Plan, Inc.

Laura N. K. Miller
Associate Counsel 
UPMC Health Plan, Inc. 
upmchealthplan.com

Laura N. K. Miller is associate counsel for UPMC Health Plan, a member of eight community groups, a mother of two young girls and a fitness instructor.

“In my spare time I try to sleep,” she says with a laugh. 

At UPMC Health Plan, Miller supports provider contracting and reimbursement, oversees government programs such as Medicare, and manages corporate transactions and administration. She says a challenging aspect of her work is keeping up with the ever-changing insurance industry. 

“It’s constantly changing today, and that’s not going to stop anytime soon,” she says. “You just roll with it and learn what you need to learn. You never get too comfortable because it may change down the road.”

Miller says she is grateful to work with many powerful women.

“UPMC Health Plan is led by very strong and smart female leadership, and I’m thankful for that every day,” she says. “I often work with outside and opposing counsel, and that’s a lot of male-dominated interaction. Know your stuff and be confident. That advice probably works in any field whether male-dominated or not.”

Miller, a Greensburg native, maintains a busy schedule outside of work as a BodyPump class instructor. She is also involved with the Neighborhood Legal Services Association, for which she is president-elect of the board, and Strong Women Strong Girls, where she is a mentor. Miller says her motivation comes from her daughters. 

“My biggest goal is to do well at work and be involved in the community,” she says. “I think those goals are especially important because I have two girls at home, and I want them to see they can do all of these things: You can be a mom, you can be a professional, you can be involved in your community. That’s super important to me. They can be all of those things or none of those things. They can be whatever they want. It’s just to be a good role model for them.”