Health Insurance Exchange Experts Join Leavitt Partners Team

New hires bring technical and practical expertise to Leavitt Partners health insurance exchange team

July 13, 2010

Two leading experts in the development and implementation of health insurance exchanges have joined Leavitt Partners. Cheryl Smith and Dan Schuyler, who directed one of only two health insurance exchanges in the country, will serve as directors in the Leavitt Partners health insurance exchange practice. They join a seasoned team of health policy experts who advise technology vendors, insurance carriers, brokers and states on how to develop and implement a health insurance exchange as outlined in the new national health reform law.

“We have assembled a preeminent group of experts to advise clients on the opportunities and pitfalls inherent in creating a health insurance exchange,” said former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary and three-term governor Michael O. Leavitt. “These new team members provide practical insight from people who have actually built a health insurance exchange from concept to reality. There is no better way to understand how to create a successful exchange than to have done it, and we are pleased to offer this expertise to our clients.”

The new national health reform law (Affordable Care Act) requires states that do not want a federally-run exchange to have functioning state or regional exchanges by January 1, 2014. Leavitt Partners offers an experienced, broad-based and knowledgeable team comprised of a former HHS secretary and governor, as well as experts who have directed the federal Medicaid program, administered insurance benefits, helped guide pharmaceutical companies, led business associations and implemented an innovative and successful health insurance exchange.

“Dan and Cheryl bring significant technical expertise to our team,” said Brett Graham who is the managing director of the health insurance exchange practice at Leavitt Partners. “Our team now has policy expertise and information system and process expertise as it relates to all of the detailed components of setting up an exchange. We offer clients our knowledge of the requirements of the Affordable Care Act and the technical know-how to create a successful health insurance exchange.”

Leavitt Partners offers a range of advisory services to clients interested in health insurance exchanges, including:

• Advising clients about the process, policies, politics and people involved in creating exchanges;
• Providing timely and in- depth analysis of state, federal and marketplace exchange activity;
• Assisting with the due diligence necessary to bid successfully on projects and help develop business plans;
• Providing customized guidance to states on how to move carefully and cost-effectively to best serve their citizens; and
• Advise state governments on the technical considerations relating to the establishment of exchanges.
  

NEW MEMBERS OF THE LEAVITT PARTNERS TEAM

The Leavitt Partners Health Insurance Exchange team includes the following new principals:

Cheryl Smith – Serves as a Director at Leavitt Partners and helps guide the firm’s health insurance exchange practice. She brings to the firm applied experience in the development and implementation of health insurance exchanges, having played a central role in Utah’s health insurance exchange. Cheryl combines this functional knowledge and experience with a prominent background in health policy, strategic management, policy design and program administration.

Prior to Leavitt Partners, Cheryl worked in the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development as the driving force behind the Utah health exchange. Her leadership and expertise drew national attention as Utah’s health insurance exchange was recognized in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com, and BusinessWeek.com. Cheryl helped coordinate the development of the Utah Health Exchange, ensuring adequate administrative and financial controls, quality, and procedural efficiencies. She also managed the relationships among various stakeholders, including the business community, industry representatives, hospitals and non-hospital providers, advocates and other interest groups.

Earlier in her career, Cheryl was a Visiting Health Policy Fellow at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. where she conducted research and analysis on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicare drug pricing and state health system reform.

Daniel J. Schuyler – Serves as a Director at Leavitt Partners in the health insurance exchange practice with a focus on health information technology and information systems. He offers significant technical expertise, having played a central role in the systems programming of Utah’s health insurance exchange. He combines this functional and technical knowledge and experience with a strong background in information technology.

Under Dan’s leadership, the Utah Health Exchange allows employees and business owners to conveniently shop, compare, and buy health insurance plans online. As the Director of Technology, Dan was responsible for defining the technical goals and business processes associated with the development of the exchange. He worked closely with technology vendors, state agency project directors, and insurance carrier IT managers to optimize development for time, cost, quality and predictability.

Prior to his post with the Utah health insurance exchange, Schuyler was the Manager for the Department of Environmental Quality, National Environmental Information Exchange Network. While serving in this role, Schuyler helped bring the State of Utah from the bottom third in environmental exchanges to the top ten percent in less than one year.

Associated Multimedia

Cheryl Smith

Daniel J. Schuyler

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