Becker’s Payer Issues Podcast

This episode recorded live at the Becker's 3rd Annual Spring Payer Issues Roundtable features Lawrence Hamilton, Executive Vice President, The Permanente Medical Group. Lawrence discusses the power of payer-provider alignment in delivering population health, advancing health equity across service lines, and using real-time patient feedback to enhance care experience and outcomes.

This episode, recorded live at the Becker's 3rd Annual Spring Payer Issues Roundtable, features Dr. Aisha Rahim, Medical Director and Co-Lead, AI Governance Council, Johns Hopkins Health Plans (JHHP). Dr. Rahim discusses how JHHP is leveraging artificial intelligence to manage costs, close care gaps, advance health equity, and enhance member engagement across a diverse population.

In this episode, Dr. Jennifer Nuovo, Chief Medical Officer of Blue Shield of California’s Promise Health Plan, joins Jakob Emerson to discuss how her team is increasing access to preventive care, addressing health disparities, and building community trust through targeted outreach, innovative programs, and a focus on whole person care.

Stacy Edgar, Co-Founder and CEO at Venteur, joins the podcast to discuss how her organization is working to strike the right balance between affordability and quality in healthcare. She highlights initiatives that support new mothers in navigating their healthcare journey and emphasizes the importance of understanding and aligning with partners to drive meaningful outcomes.

This episode recorded live at the Becker's 3rd Annual Spring Payer Issues Roundtable features Dawn Maroney, Chief Executive Officer of Alignment Health Plan and President of Alignment Health. She shares how Alignment uses AI-assisted care, culturally aware outreach, and a deep commitment to equity to deliver affordable, personalized care for seniors while preserving the human touch at every step.

This episode, recorded live at the Becker’s Hospital Review 15th Annual Meeting, features Nirnay Patel, EVP and GM of Benefits1™ and Chief Digital Officer at Simplify Healthcare. He shares how integrated benefits data, AI, and platform thinking are transforming payer operations and personalizing the member journey across Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial markets. This episode is sponsored by Simp...

This episode recorded live at the Becker's 3rd Annual Spring Payer Issues Roundtable features Dawn Maroney, Chief Executive Officer of Alignment Health Plan and President of Alignment Health. She shares how Alignment uses AI-assisted care, culturally aware outreach, and a deep commitment to equity to deliver affordable, personalized care for seniors while preserving the human touch at every step.

In this episode of the Becker’s Healthcare Podcast, Lukas Voss is joined by Chad Kersting, Business Development Director, and Dr. Eric Gratias, National Physician Executive of Medical Benefit Services, both from EviCore by Evernorth. Together, they explore the evolving landscape of utilization management (UM) beyond prior authorization—highlighting common misconceptions, the challenge of underutil...

This episode recorded live at the Becker's 3rd Annual Spring Payer Issues Roundtable features Samuel Wollner, Vice President, Strategy and Partnerships, EmblemHealth. He shares how EmblemHealth is advancing health equity, leveraging Net Promoter Score for improvement, and focusing on deep community engagement to transform care delivery across New York.

This episode recorded live at the Becker's 3rd Annual Spring Payer Issues Roundtable features Dr. Rebekah Hughey, Medical Director at Highmark Wholecare. She shares how Highmark’s Living Health model streamlines care delivery, tackles health equity through maternal health and food access programs, and enhances member satisfaction through a patient-centered, tech-enabled approach.

This episode recorded live at the Becker's 3rd Annual Spring Payer Issues Roundtable features Crissy Turino, Chief Plan Officer & Chief Operating Officer, CountyCare. Crissy shares how CountyCare is advancing health equity through housing and food access programs, while boosting member satisfaction and outcomes through value-based care and community engagement.

This episode, recorded live at the Becker's 3rd Annual Spring Payer Issues Roundtable, features Catherine Tabaka, Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. Michael Cantor, Chief Medical Officer. They discuss how Matrix Medical Network’s in-home care model addresses gaps in the healthcare system by enabling whole-person care, improving coordination, and supporting better health outcomes at lower costs. This...

In this episode of the Becker’s Payer Issues Podcast, Jakob Emerson speaks with Dr. Tracy Gayeski, Chief Health Officer at Catalight, a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming care for individuals with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Dr. Gayeski discusses how Catalight is addressing affordability, individualized care at scale, and social determinants of heal...

This episode, recorded live at the Becker's 3rd Annual Spring Payer Issues Roundtable, features Raj Ronanki, Chief Executive Officer, Lyric. Here, he discusses the company's evolution, its focus on real-time, AI-powered payment integrity, the strategic acquisition of ClaimShark, and Lyric’s vision for enabling autonomous healthcare operations and greater transparency across the system. This episod...

This episode recorded live at the Becker's 3rd Annual Spring Payer Issues Roundtable features Dr. Sachin Jain, President and Chief Executive Officer, SCAN Group. Dr. Jain discusses how SCAN is redefining member experience through human-centered care and highlights the urgent need for deeper payer-provider partnerships to drive true innovation and better outcomes in healthcare.

In this episode, Erfan Karim, Chief Clinical Operations Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, discusses the critical role of Medicaid in public health, the impact of recent policy shifts, and how innovation in care delivery can help safeguard vulnerable communities. He also shares how personal experience drives his commitment to equitable access for all.

In this episode, Alan Silver, President of Centene’s ICHRA-focused Ambetter Health Solutions, joins the Jakob Emerson to discuss the rapid evolution of individual coverage HRAs, why large and small employers are embracing the model, and what it takes for insurers to succeed in this growing space.

This episode recorded live at the Becker's 3rd Annual Spring Payer Issues Roundtable features Sheri Johnson, Vice President, Member Enrollment and Billing, UCare. Sheri discusses how member feedback led to meaningful changes in payment options—including credit card and pay-by-phone solutions—and how these innovations have significantly improved member satisfaction and engagement.

This episode recorded live at the Becker's 3rd Annual Spring Payer Issues Roundtable features Sheri Johnson, Vice President, Member Enrollment and Billing, UCare. Sheri discusses how member feedback led to meaningful changes in payment options—including credit card and pay-by-phone solutions—and how these innovations have significantly improved member satisfaction and engagement.

This episode, recorded live at the Becker's 3rd Annual Spring Payer Issues Roundtable, features Jarrod McNaughton, CEO of Inland Empire Health Plan. Jarrod shares how IEHP is aligning mission, culture, and bold innovation to drive health equity, improve quality through performance-based partnerships, and enhance member satisfaction with community-centered programs.

This episode, recorded live at the Becker's 3rd Annual Spring Payer Issues Roundtable, features Dr. Eric Weil, Chief Medical Officer at MD Live by Evernorth. Dr. Weil discusses how MD Live is innovating virtual care through a focus on efficiency, prevention, and access—while emphasizing the critical role of quality and safety in transforming healthcare delivery.  This episode is sponsored by Evern...

This episode, recorded live at the Becker's 3rd Annual Spring Payer Issues Roundtable, features Peter Kuipers, CFO of Clover Health. Peter shares how Clover’s technology-first approach is enabling earlier chronic disease diagnosis, improving care quality, and driving down costs—while expanding access through a premium-free PPO model and partnerships with other payers.

This episode recorded live at the Becker's 3rd Annual Spring Payer Issues Roundtable features Stuart Langley, SVP, Client Services, Everise & Sadie Rizzuto, Vice President, Enterprise Technology Solution Implementation, Humana. They discuss the power of predictive models, AI, and automation in improving member engagement, reducing friction in claims, and advancing proactive care and provider c...

This episode, recorded live at the Becker's 3rd Annual Spring Payer Issues Roundtable, features Angie Kalousek, Senior Director, Clinical Strategy and Programs at Blue Shield of California. Angie shares how her organization is innovating in value-based care, virtual delivery, and health equity initiatives to balance affordability, quality, and access for diverse member populations.

In this episode of the Becker’s Healthcare Podcast, Erika Spicer Mason speaks with Brian Workinger and Lauree Handlon of The Craneware Group about how AI and data-driven insights are helping providers navigate increasingly complex payer contracting and reimbursement environments. The conversation covers predictive modeling, payer transparency, and preparing for shifts in Medicare Advantage partici...