SNP Innovations

Andy Friedell

COO

The Helper Bees

As COO, Andy helps drive growth and provides strategic direction across The Helper Bees’ products and services, ensuring that the work of the team is properly aligned with the goals of payers, patients and caregivers. He brings over 20 years of healthcare experience to the job. Andy founded healthAlign to help payers better manage a diverse range of services into the home and that business was acquired by The Helper Bees in 2021. Prior to founding healthAlign, he oversaw payer relations, nationwide business development, and large-scale strategic engagements at Maxim, one of the nation’s largest homecare companies. His work driving the product development function there brought about a community-based care management offering that has been shown to reduce readmissions by over 65% while also driving a 35% reduction in in-patient spending.

Andy came to Maxim from Medco Health Solutions where he worked on the development of the Medicare Part D drug benefit, the early launch of the internet pharmacy marketplace and the regulatory environment for mail service pharmacies.

Chris Esguerra, M.D.

Chief Medical Officer

Health Plan of San Mateo

Courtney Skivington-Wolf

Chief Operating Officer

Partners Health Plan

Courtney Skivington-Wolf serves as Chief Operating Officer for Partners Health Plan. Prior to joining, Courtney served as Vice President for Program Administration at a New York State DSRIP PPS, overseeing provider quality performance initiatives. Courtney also directed the Project Management Office (PMO) for the Department of Health’s eMedNY claims system.

Courtney is a registered nurse and holds certifications in LEAN, Microsoft Training, and cardiac nursing. She received a BA in English and a BA in Communications from St. John Fisher College, and degree in Nursing from Hudson Valley Community College.

Eve Gelb

Chief Innovation Officer

Gold Coast Health Plan

Gretchen Wagner

Associate Vice President-Risk Management

Humana

Gretchen is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and a Certified Risk Management Auditor (CRMA) with over 20 years of broad experience in quality assurance, education, compliance, and audit. Gretchen obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Richmond and her Master of Arts degree from New York University. She is also a graduate of SACUBO’s College Business Management Institute (CBMI). Gretchen joined Humana in 2012 as part of the Internal Audit Consulting Group where she performed audits, oversight and consulting for the Owned Provider and Clinical segments, with a large focus on Humana at Home, Special Needs Plan (SNP) Compliance, Humana Behavioral Health, and Humana’s Owned Provider Practices. Gretchen joined Healthcare Services Compliance and Risk Management in 2017 as the Director of Risk Management aligned to Home Solutions with support for all Home Solutions audit activity including, CMS audit readiness and execution, risk identification and mitigation, and compliance implementation activities. Gretchen currently serves as Associate Vice President, Risk Management, supporting all first line risk management functions for Humana’s Care Management line of business, as well as overseeing the quality compliance and SNP Governance functions supporting Humana’s Insurance segment.

Kaitlin Mayhew

Senior Director, Product Development

Curana Health Plans / Align Senior Care

Kaitlin Mayhew has more than a decade of experience in the Medicare and Medicaid space. She has held multiple roles supporting Medicare Advantage health plans including sales and implementation, regulatory management, and CMS bid development. Today, Kaitlin leads the Product Department at Curana health plans and Align Senior Care. Specializing in special needs plans, Kaitlin manages benefit strategy and design for more than 30 MAPD plans. She also oversees health plan expansion and new product development. Kaitlin lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband, two-year-old daughter, and Australian Shepherd dog.

Kimberly Moran

AVP of Facility Based Products • I-SNP Product Management

Elderplan and Metropolitan Jewish Health System

Kimberly Moran, Assistant VP of Facility Based Product -Ms. Moran develops and implements Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services’ patient and revenue growth strategies, with a principal focus on managed care market share, payor, and provider relationships. Ms. Moran comes from Elderplan, Inc., the health plan arm of Metropolitan Jewish Health systems, a premier non-profit health system integrating health plans with the full continuum of post-acute services (nursing homes, medical practice, homecare, housing, care management & hospice) with over $1.6B in annual revenues, where she has led key strategic efforts across Elderplan‘s Medicare lines of business, with a focus on institutionalized Medicare beneficiaries, and leading planning for and response to changes in federal policy. Throughout her career Ms. Moran has overseen over $500M in health care transactions, She is a national expert in Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans focused on the frail and elderly population. As member of the team responsible for all operations of the health plan, she has responsibility for developing and executing medium and long-term strategy for institutionalized Medicare beneficiaries. Ms. Moran has also worked as a product expansion, reimbursement, and compliance consultant.

Leah Bellman, MS, OTR/L, LSSGB

Senior Associate, Business Process Services

Commonwealth Care Alliance

Lisa Gill MHA, BSN, RN

Vice President, Clinical Programs

Jefferson Health Plans

Lisa D. Gill is a results-oriented health care leader with over two decades of experience in clinical programs and health plan management. As the Vice President of Medicare Clinical Programs at Jefferson Health Plans, she leads efforts to improve member outcomes through the management of both the Dual Special Needs Program (DSNP) and Non-DSNP case management. Lisa is dedicated to optimizing processes, advancing health risk assessments, and reducing readmission rates. She leads the development and implementation of innovative clinical programs, integrating tools to enhance care coordination and empowering her team to deliver high-quality services to members.

Prior to this role, Lisa was Manager of the Dual Special Needs Program at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, where she gained valuable experience in program implementation and process improvement. She also managed the Maternity and NICU Programs, overseeing utilization management and restructuring care management programs to improve service delivery for Medicaid participants. Earlier in her career, Lisa served as Director of Quality and Accreditation at Physicians Care Surgical Hospital, where she drove quality improvement initiatives and led the hospital through successful accreditation processes.

Lisa has a strong commitment to continuous learning and leadership development in the health care industry. She holds a Master's in Health Administration from Saint Joseph's University, is an active Registered Nurse, and is currently pursuing a Master's in Applied Science, Population Health Management at Johns Hopkins University.

Mark Hassenstab

Vice President of Risk Adjustment and Product Optimization

Curana Health Plan

Mark Hassenstab has over 20 years of business experience working in finance, reporting, and various healthcare organizations. He started his career at large corporations (including IBM and Target). Upon graduating with his Master of Business Administration focused on Finance and Management, he transitioned to a financial management position at UCare (a $6 billion and 650,000-member plan). In that role, Mark was responsible for revenue, risk adjustment, and encounters. He then became an early employee of Bright Health Group, witnessing tremendous growth in membership and geographic expansion.

Currently, Mark leads product optimization economics at Curana Health, overseeing risk adjustment, product management, and product strategy.

In his free time, he enjoys fishing in Northern Minnesota with his sons, building mini- cabins, trying new restaurants with his wife, and hosting large family events.

Matthew Loper

CEO and Co-Founder

Wellth

As CEO and Co-Founder, Matt Loper oversees strategy, sales, business development, and finance for Wellth.  He is inspired by the chance to create scalable positive behavior change in patients with chronic conditions and humbled by the fact that we get to work with some of the best healthcare providers and insurers in the industry.

Prior to founding Wellth, Matt was an investor in publicly traded healthcare technology, medical devices, and services companies at OrbiMed Advisors, a leading healthcare investment firm with $13 billion under management.  He also worked in Healthcare Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs.

Matt holds a BS in Biological Engineering from MIT.

Meghan Morais

Associate Director Risk Management

Humana

Meghan has 15 years of experience in quality assurance, compliance, and audit. Meghan has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Florida in Business Management. Meghan joined Humana in 2010 as part of the Quality team responsible for auditing the care management programs. Meghan is currently an Associate Director of Risk Management supporting all first- line activities for Humana’s Care Management programs. Meghan leads a team that is responsible for SNP Governance, SNP Model of Care development, implementation of MOC and D-SNP state contract compliance requirements, and audit readiness efforts for any internal or external care management audits.

Michael W. Cheek

President & CEO

Special Needs Plan Alliance

Mike comes to the SNP Alliance from his role as the Senior Vice President for Reimbursement and Market Strategy for the American Health Care Association/ National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL). Prior to this role he was the director of Medicaid Long Term Care for the District of Columbia’s Medicaid agency, the Department of Health Care Finance. In addition, Mike has worked for three state government associations: the state Medicaid directors where he focused on eligibility and long-term care, the state developmental disabilities directors, and the state aging directors.

Mike also worked as a consultant for several years, first at The Lewin Group and later at Avalere Health, offering his expertise to states, health plans, pharmaceutical companies, and post-acute and long-term care provider organizations.

Nancy Archibald,

Associate Director, Medicare-Medicaid Integration,

Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS)

Nikki Rital Hungate

Director of Medicare

PacificSource Health Plan

Nikki Hungate is an accomplished executive with over 19 years of experience in the healthcare industry, encompassing both payer and provider sectors. She holds a Master’s degree in Health Administration and Doctorate in Executive Leadership, underscoring her commitment to advancing her expertise and impact in the field.

A passionate advocate for accessible and affordable healthcare, Nikki dedicates her career to driving innovation and helping organizations navigate the complex regulatory landscapes within government programs. Her journey in healthcare began humbly as a customer service professional, where she developed a foundational understanding of the industry's nuances. This early experience has enriched her tactical and leadership perspective across various domains, including Operations, Sales, Compliance, Quality Monitoring, Provider Relations, and Product Development.

Nikki’s insights and expertise make her a sought-after speaker, and in 2024 alone, she has presented at 15 industry conferences, addressing critical topics that shape the future of healthcare. Through her work, Nikki continues to influence the discourse on healthcare access and quality, striving to create a system that serves all individuals effectively.

Stephanie Plana

Vice President of Medicare Operations

Florida Complete Care

Stephanie Plana obtained her law degree from Benjamin N Cardozo School of Law in 2016. She began her legal career focused on civil defense litigation before pursing her current field, health care law. Stephanie presently serves as the Vice President of Medicare at Independent Living Systems, LLC (ILS) where she has devoted her legal skills to the business aspect of improving health outcomes and reducing costs.

Independent Living Systems is a Florida-based company, with a nationwide impact, providing a comprehensive range of turnkey payer services to managed care organizations and providers. Focused on those that support high-cost, complex populations in the dual eligible (Medicare and Medicaid), persons with disabilities, and special needs markets. An industry leader in managing home and community-based programs for two decades, ILS leverages an award-winning technology platform to improve health outcomes.

ILS owns and operates Florida Community Care (FCC), Florida’s only statewide Medicaid long-term care provider service network. As well as Florida Complete Care (FC2), a Medicare Advantage special needs plan for people who live in a nursing home, an assisted living facility, or live at home and have complex health issues that require more coordinated and comprehensive care.

Prior to assuming her current role of Vice President, Stephanie worked as Legal Counsel of ILS providing guidance and playing an integral role in the 2022 launch and ongoing operation of the company’s Medicare health plan. Launching a new Medicare plan involves following strict state and federal requirements. Stephanie was instrumental in supporting the launch of the plan through providing the necessary legal oversight and the implementation of best practices, specifically as it relates to Institutional Special Needs Plans.

Additionally, Stephanie led the implementation of the plan’s prescription benefit by providing oversight of the Pharmacy Benefit Manager and ensured a seamless transition to operationalizing the Medicare Part D benefit. Today, she is responsible for the Compliance, Operations and Sales departments of FC2. Stephanie’s passion for the health care field, most importantly providing quality care to the most vulnerable populations, has contributed towards the success of the new Florida Complete Care plan.

Her passion for serving the community doesn’t just stop at health care. She serves as a volunteer advocate as well as an Associate Board member of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) NYC, advocating for the best interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect and are navigating the foster care system. Stephanie has also served as a volunteer at the Lighthouse Guild, assisting elders who are visually impaired. In 2019, she was recognized by the Mayor Bill De Blasio with the city’s Excellence in Service award.