Conversations About Healthcare Reform

Sponsored by Intermountain Healthcare, the Healthy Dialogues Speaker Series brings together national health policy experts and Utah leaders to discuss local solutions for the challenges facing America's medical system. Registration for these luncheon events is by invitation only and free to attendees, as guests of Intermountain.

Registration for these luncheon events is by invitation only and free to attendees, as guests of Intermountain.

Adaeze Enekwechi, President, IMPAQ

Adaeze Enekwechi is President of IMPAQ, the parent organization of three companies. She is also a Research Associate Professor at George Washington University, with a focus on health care financing, policy, and equity. Previously, she served as the Associate Director for Health Programs at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under President Obama. As the Federal government’s chief health care budget official, she provided policy, management, and regulatory oversight for over $1 trillion in spending on a range of Federal programs.

Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, CEO of Haven

CEO of Haven, the health care venture founded by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase, Dr.Gawande is a globally recognized surgeon, writer, and public health leader. For more than 20 years, he has been a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School. He is founder and chair of Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation, and of Lifebox, a nonprofit organization making surgery safer globally. Dr. Gawande has also been a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine since 1998 and written four New York Times bestselling books.

Bob Bennett, Former U.S. Senator

Senator Bennett is a former United States senator from Utah. While in office from January 1993 to January 2011, he held chairmanships and senior positions on a number of key Senate committees, including the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, Appropriations Committee, Rules and administration Committee, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Joint Economic Committee. Senator Bennett was at the forefront of healthcare reform. He co-sponsored the Healthy Americans Act, the first major bipartisan healthcare legislation in more than a decade.

Bradley A. Perkins, MD, MBA, CO-Founder and CEO, Sapians Data Science Inc.

Dr. Perkins is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sapiens Data Science Inc. He was the former chief strategy and innovation officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He is considered to be a catalyst for CDC efforts to influence health system transformation in ways that emphasize health protection and health equity through policy interventions and multi-sector and public engagement.

Brent James, MD, David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah

Dr. James is known internationally for his work in clinical quality improvement, patient safety, and the infrastructure that underlies successful improvement efforts such as culture change, data systems, payment methods, and management roles. He formerly served as the Chief Quality Officer for Intermountain Healthcare and Executive Director of the Intermountain Institute for Health Care Delivery Research. He has also been recognized as a leader in healthcare by Modern Physician, Modern Healthcare, and numerous organizations. Dr. James joined the faculty of the Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) program at the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah as an adjunct professor in 2018.

Carolyn Clancy, MD, Deputy Under Secretary for Health, U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Dr. Clancy oversees performance, quality, safety, risk management, systems engineering, auditing, oversight, ethics and accreditation programs to address the immediate and long-term needs of our nation’s veterans. She leads more than 700 clinical and administrative professionals in the day-to-day operations of these key programmatic elements. Dr. Clancy was presented with the 2014 Quality Champion Award, National Committee for Quality Assurance, and was named as Honorary Fellow, American Academy of Nursing.

Ceci Connolly, Alliance of Community Health Plans President and CEO

Ceci Connolly, a nationally recognized healthcare leader, took over as president and CEO of the Alliance of Community Health Plans in 2016. She works with some of the most innovative executives in the health sector to provide high-quality, evidence-based, affordable care. She is passionate about transforming America’s system to deliver greater value to all. Connolly has spent more than a decade in healthcare, first as a national correspondent for the Washington Post and in thought leadership roles at two international consulting firms.

Charles W. Sorenson, MD, Former CEO of Intermountain Healthcare

Dr. Sorenson was President and Chief Executive Officer of Intermountain Healthcare from 2009 to 2016. As a urologic surgeon, he continues to practice surgery at Intermountain Medical Center with a primary focus on urologic oncology. Dr. Sorenson served as Chair of the American College of Surgeons’ Committee on Young Surgeons and was Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery at LDS Hospital. Dr. Sorenson was appointed to the Providence St. Joseph Health (PSJH) Board of Directors in 2018.

Christine Cassel, MD, President and CEO, National Quality Forum

Dr. Cassel is president and CEO of the National Quality Forum. She is a leading expert in geriatric medicine, medical ethics, and quality of care. Dr. Cassel is one of 20 scientists chosen by former President Obama to serve on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and she is the author or co-author of 14 books and more than 200 journal articles. She is also an adjunct professor of medicine and senior fellow in the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Clayton M. Christensen, Professor, Harvard

Professor Christensen is the Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration professor at Harvard Business School and the best-selling author of several books. Prior to joining the Harvard faculty in 1992, Christensen served as chairman and president of CPS Technologies, a firm he co-founded with several MIT professors. He is the bestselling author of five books, including his seminal work The Innovator's Dilemma, which received the Global Business Book Award for the best business book of the year. Recently, Christensen has written on social issues such as education (Disrupting Class) and healthcare (The Innovator's Prescription, which won the 2010 James A. Hamilton Award by the College of Healthcare Executives).

David Merritt, Managing Director, Luntz Global Partners

Merritt leads Luntz Global’s political, policy and healthcare work, helping dozens of candidates, campaigns, causes, and companies craft effective messages to persuade skeptical audiences. Prior to joining Luntz, he was with America's Health Insurance Plans. As an expert on national health reform and health information technology, Merritt advises and directs the Center's policy and communications efforts. Previously, he was a health policy adviser to Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign.

David Wennberg, MD, MPH, CEO, Quartet

Dr. Wennberg is the CEO and Chief of Science officer for Quartet, a New York-based technology company transforming the way mental health is delivered, by making it more accessible and integrated into primary care. Dr. Wennberg served as the former CEO of the Northern New England Accountable Care Collaborative, which creates common financing and accountability models as the director of the High Value Health Collaborative at the Dartmouth Institute. His work has been published in many peer-reviewed medical journals and he is an internationally recognized authority on the root causes of unwarranted variation in medical care.

Dee Edington, PhD, Founder and Chairman, Edington Associates, LLC

Dr. Edington is a professor in the Division of Kinesiology at the University of Michigan. He is the founder and recently retired director of the University of Michigan Health Management Research Center. He is also the founder and chairman of Edington Associates, which help organizations build a thriving and sustainable workplace and workforce. Trained in mathematics, kinesiology, and biochemistry, Dr. Edington's research focuses on the precursors of disease and vitality and on the relationships between healthy lifestyles, vitality, and quality of life, as they benefit both individuals and organizations.

Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, Former President and CEO, Institute for Healthcare Improvement

Dr. Berwick was president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to innovative change in healthcare worldwide. He has served as a clinical professor of pediatrics and Health Care Policy in the Department of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and as professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health. In addition, Dr. Berwick has served as adjunct staff in the Department of Medicine at Children's Hospital Boston, and a consultant in pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Elliott Fisher, MD, MPH, Director, Professor of the Dartmouth Institute

Dr. Fisher is Director of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and the John E. Wennberg Distinguished Professor of Health Policy, Medicine and Community and Family Medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. His services have included being co-chair of the National Quality Forum committee, developing a framework for measuring and improving healthcare efficiency. Citing a study of Medicare patients that focused on effectiveness of care, Dr. Fisher noted that the average expenditure per patient at Intermountain's flagship hospital was less than half the expenditures at leading hospitals in California, New York, and Baltimore – with equal or superior quality.

Gail Wilensky, Ph.D., Senior Fellow at Project HOPE

Dr. Wilensky is an economist and senior fellow at Project HOPE, an international health foundation. She is the former director of the Medicare and Medicaid programs and has served in the White House as a senior health and welfare adviser to former President George H. W. Bush. Dr. Wilensky testifies frequently before Congressional committees, serves as an adviser to members of Congress and other elected officials, speaks nationally and internationally before professional, business, and consumer groups.

Greg Bell, President and CEO of Utah Hospital Association

Mr. Bell has been named to lead the UHA, a private, nonprofit association representing Utah hospitals following more than 23 years of public policy experience including Lieutenant Governor of the state of Utah. Previously, he served as a senator and in the leadership of the Utah State Senate. Mr. Bell has provided leadership on a number of healthcare policy issues. His roles included chair for the Executive Health Policy Group for Utah’s top healthcare policy leaders; chair of the Governor’s Tort Reform Medical Liability Workgroup; co-chair of the Utah Health Exchange Advisory Board; and chair of Utah’s Emergency Management Administration Council.

Ken Kizer, MD, MPH, Director, Institute for Population Health Improvement

Dr. Kizer led a dramatic transformation of the Veterans Administration hospital system – one of the world's largest health organizations with an annual budget of more than $20 billion, approximately 200,000 employees, and more than 1,300 facilities. Under Secretary for Health in the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs, he used information technology and best practice guidelines to significantly cut costs while improving medical quality and outcomes.

Mark Chassin, MD, MPP, MPH, President and CEO, The Joint Commission

During his presentation, Dr. Chassin noted that America already spends enough money on healthcare to provide effective care for all, including those who are currently uninsured. He expressed what our country needs is a "quality-driven health strategy" that addresses issues of medical overuse (doing more than is medically necessary/appropriate), under-use (the failure to provide a service when it would have helped), and misuse (medical mistakes).

Mark Wietecha, President and CEO, Children's Hospital Association

Mr. Wietecha is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Hospital Association, an institution representing over 200 hospital organizations and programs dedicated to improving child health through innovation in care, education, and research. In addition to the Children’s Hospital Association Board of Trustees, he serves on the Boards of the Council of Teaching Hospitals and Health Systems of the AAMC, the Coalition to Protect America’s Health Care, and Virtual PICU Systems, LLC, where he also served as chair. Mr. Wietecha is also the current chair of the UCLA Health System Board of Overseers.

Michael O. Leavitt, Former Governor of Utah

Former Lt. Governor Michael O. Leavitt was elected three times as governor of Utah (1993-2003). In 2003, he was appointed a member of President George W. Bush's cabinet, serving as the 10th head of the Environmental Protection Agency (2003-2005) and the 20th secretary of Health and Human Services (2005-2009). As governor, Mr. Leavitt was elected chairman of the National Governors Association, and the Republican Governors and the Western Governors associations. During his eleven years as governor, independent public policy analysts named Utah six times as America's best-managed state.

Newt Gingrich, Former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

Mr. Gingrich, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, discussed national health reform efforts and praised Intermountain during his keynote presentation to Utah leaders, calling Intermountain one of the country's "centers of brilliance." Mr. Gingrich is founder of the nonpartisan Center for Health Transformation, a high-impact collaboration of private and public sector leaders committed to creating a 21st-century health system. During his visit to Salt Lake City, Mr. Gingrich detailed his plan for healthcare reform, some of which was modeled on Intermountain's successes in implementing evidence-based clinical protocols and the development of electronic medical records.

Patrick Conway, MD, President and CEO, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina

Dr. Conway is President and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. He was formerly the Acting Principal Deputy Administrator and Deputy Administrator for Innovation and Quality and Chief Medical Officer for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. As the CMS Acting Principal Deputy Administrator and CMS Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Conway was responsible for overseeing the programs that serve the millions of Americans that access health care services through Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and the Marketplace. He and the CMS team focused on improving health outcomes, access and affordability while improving health disparities and combating health care fraud.

Philip Bredesen, Former Governor of Tennessee

Former Gov. Bredesen, a Democrat, served as Tennessee's governor from 2003 until 2011. He is the author of Fresh Medicine: How to Fix Reform and Build a Sustainable Health Care System (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2010). Known for his bipartisan approach to problem-solving and careful fiscal management, Bredesen's political style proved successful and popular. Among senior elected officials, Gov. Bredesen has unusually deep experience in the field of healthcare. As a private-sector entrepreneur, he started a managed care business from his home in 1980 and grew it to an NYSE-listed company with 6,000 employees before the end of the decade. As governor, he reformed Tennessee's troubled Medicaid program – called TennCare – and developed several innovative approaches to assisting the uninsured. Former Gov. Bredesen presented at a Healthy Dialogues Speaker Series event on November 10, 2011.

Richard de Filippi, Managing Partner of Ariano Partnership

De Filippi served as chairman of the American Hospital Association. In addition to his service at the AHA, he is a trustee and former chairman of the board of the Cambridge Health Alliance, a major safety-net healthcare system and one of the largest in Massachusetts. He is also the managing partner of the Ariano Partnership, a consulting group working largely with emerging technology-based companies

Roger Weisberg, Director and Producer

Weisberg introduced Money & Medicine, an investigative documentary filmed at UCLA Medical Center and Intermountain Medical Center that illuminates the powerful forces driving soaring healthcare costs as well as dangers patients face from over-diagnosis and over-treatment. Weisberg is president of Public Policy Productions and has produced documentaries on a variety of social issues that have aired in prime time on PBS and networks around the world. His films have won more than 100 awards, including Peabody, Emmy, and duPont-Columbia awards, and an Academy Award nomination in 2000.

Shannon Brownlee, Senior VP, Lown Institute

Shannon is the Senior Vice President of Lown Institute. Her book, Overtreated was named the No. 1 economics book of 2007 by The New York Times. She is also an instructor at the Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice at Dartmouth Medical School. Brownlee is a former senior writer and editor at U.S. News & World Report. Her work has appeared in The New York Times magazine, The New Republic, Time, The Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, among others, and was featured in the PBS documentary, Money & Medicine.

Thomas H. Lee, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Press Ganey

Dr. Lee joined Press Ganey Associates as chief medical officer in 2013, bringing more than three decades of experience in healthcare performance improvement as a practicing physician, a leader in provider organizations, researcher and health policy expert. Dr. Lee is an internist and cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Previously, he served as Network President for Partners Healthcare System and CEO for Partners Community HealthCare, Inc., the integrated delivery system founded by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.