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Speaker Biographies
Dr. Volker Amelung (lic. oec., Dr. oec. University of St. Gallen, Switzerland) is Professor for International Healthcare System Research at the Medical University of Hannover, Germany and TiasNimbas, the business school of Tilburg University and Eindhoven University of Technology. Professor Amelung is also the president of the German Managed Care Association (BMC), Berlin. The BMC is one of the leading independent healthcare associations, elaborating innovative concepts in healthcare management and healthcare policy. He is a member of several national and international healthcare associations and internationally affiliated with healthcare management professionals. Professor Amelung's research activities concentrate on healthcare policy, managed care, and healthcare systems research. He has co-authored eight books and published approximately 150 papers on managed care, healthcare policy, new technologies, and integrated delivery systems.
Carl Anderson is Chief Operating Officer for University of Minnesota Boynton Health Service which serves over 25,000 students and staff per year with over 100,000 visits per year. Boynton Health Service also manages one the nation's most highly regarded self-funded student health insurance programs with over 8,000 members. Boynton's annual operating budget is approximately $33 million, including $12 million in student health insurance premiums.
Mr. Anderson holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Minnesota. He worked in Nursing Administration at the University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinics from 1980 to 1995 and became Chief Operating Officer for University Affiliated Family Physicians (UAFP) in 1995 and Chief Executive Officer in 1998. UAFP is the nations' largest Family Medicine medical residency program and currently runs 4 hospital-affiliated community clinics. In 2002, UAFP merged into University of Minnesota Physicians and Mr. Anderson became Senior Director for Ambulatory Care for all of the hospital-based and non-hospital based clinics with over 350,000 ambulatory care visits per year. The clinics are staffed by over 400 University physicians, 250 medical residents, and approximately 600 clinic employees.
Bob Carey is the principal/founder of RLCarey Consulting, a health and welfare benefits consultancy that specializes in health insurance reform, in both the public and private markets, health benefits analytics and design, and health and welfare vendor procurements.
Prior to establishing his business, Mr. Carey was Director of Planning and Development for the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, an independent authority established pursuant to Massachusetts' landmark health reform law of 2006 to expand access to affordable health insurance for Commonwealth residents. In this role, Mr. Carey worked closely with the Executive Director and the Board of the Health Connector to implement new health insurance programs, including designing public and commercial health benefit plans, as well as developing health care financing arrangements.
In addition, Mr. Carey served for several years as the Director of Policy and Program Management for the Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission, the state agency responsible for providing health and welfare benefits to over 265,000 state employees, retirees and their dependents. His work experience also includes senior research and policy positions with non-governmental research organizations and government oversight boards, as well as policy positions with the U.S. Congress and the Maine Legislature.
Mr. Carey received an M.S. degree in public policy and management with a concentration in economics from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.A. in English from the University of Maine at Fort Kent.
Karen Chapin is the Health Programs Manager for the University of Minnesota. She is responsible for plan design, purchasing, finance, and vendor relationships for the UPlan medical, pharmacy, wellness, dental, life, and long term care programs. UPlan covers the University of Minnesota's 18,000 employees, their 19,000 dependents, and 2,000 retirees. Ms. Chapin was actively involved in the implementation of the UPlan's carve out pharmacy program; more recently she worked with the College of Pharmacy to implement a new UPlan Medication Therapy Management Program. She serves on the Pharmacy Clinical Committee and several other University committees. Before joining the University of Minnesota, Ms. Chapin held similar benefits positions with several Minnesota corporations and with a large medical association in California. Ms. Chapin currently serves on the board of directors for the Buyers Health Care Action Group (BHCAG) and has been an active board of directors' member for several other non-profit organizations.
Dann Chapman is the Director of Employee Benefits and Director of Health Programs for the University of Minnesota, a position he has held since July 2002. He provides leadership to formulate, implement and lead the strategic direction for the university's "UPlan." Under his oversight, the Office of Employee Benefits—a division with more than 30 staff members—administers the full range of benefits for employees at campuses and locations across Minnesota and beyond, including medical, dental, life, disability and retirement. The UPlan provides coverage for more than 18,000 employees, with approximately 37,000 covered persons.
Recruited in November 2000, Mr. Chapman provided analysis in the process that led the University to purchase and manage its benefits independently, after decades of participating in the State of Minnesota's employee insurance program. In 2001, he served as the UPlan's first Manager of Health Programs. Before coming to the University, he served as Assistant Purchasing Manager for the State of Minnesota's State Employees Group Insurance Program. He currently serves on the board of directors of Minnesota Community Measurement. He previously served as a director of the Buyers Health Care Action Group (BHCAG), and as chair of the National Data Cooperative.
Timothy F. Dickman is President and CEO of Prime Therapeutics. Prime Therapeutics is a Pharmacy Benefit Management company in the United States that provides pharmacy services to 15 million Americans. In addition, Prime provides services to nearly 1 million covered seniors under Medicare Part D. Prime Therapeutics is privately held by 15 BlueCross and BlueShield plans. Mr. Dickman has been CEO and a Director since 2002.
Prior to joining Prime Therapeutics, Mr. Dickman was the Pharmacy Practice leader for Tillinghast Towers Perrin, an international consulting firm providing services to employers and insurers in the United States and internationally. He has worked with many of the Fortune 50 companies in the United States and consulted internationally on Pharmacy with several large insurers. Mr. Dickman has also held executive management positions with Vivra, The Travelers Group, and the Lutheran General Health System in Chicago. He holds a B.S. degree in Pharmacy from Purdue University and a MBA degree from the University of Chicago. Mr. Dickman is a licensed pharmacist in several states.
Ministerialrat Ulrich Dietz is head of the Department of Pharmaceuticals in Germany's Ministry of Health. He studied at the universities of Cologne and Warsaw and received degrees in economics and business administration. He also trained with the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce and worked as a controller at Ford Motor Company in Cologne.
Over the past dozen years, Mr. Dietz has accumulated substantive expertise in the areas of public health care. In 1992 he first served as a consultant in the department of pharmaceuticals at the German Ministry of Health and Social Security, which then also covered payments to hospitals. From 1999 to 2001, he was a consultant on health care in the German Chancellor's office. In 2001, he became an advisor to the Minister of Social Issues in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. He served two years in this position. Since March 2003, he has been working for Germany’s federal government in the Ministry of Health.
Franz Knieps is Director General for Health Care and Long Term Care Insurance at Germany's Federal Ministry of Health, a post he has held since 2003. Mr. Knieps studied law and political science at Bonn University and Freiburg University. In 1986 he began his long involvement with health care issues as desk officer for foundational principles of legal policy at Germany's Federal Association of Local Sickness Funds (AOK Bundesverband). The next year, he moved to the Federal Ministry for Labor and Social Affairs for preparatory work on the government's 1988 Health Care Modernisation Act. Later he worked as a researcher for the parliamentary committee charged with reforming the structure of Germany's statutory health insurance system. In 1990 he was dispatched to the GDR's Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs and the Director of Social Security to support the process of German reunification as a political advisor. From 1989 to 1998 he headed the policy staff unit at the Federal Association of Local Sickness Funds (AOK). His responsibilities included legislation and policy consulting in social insurance law and health policy; political, economic and social principles of the health care system; the guiding principles of AOK operational policy and operational strategy; and press and public relations work. From 1998 to 2003, he was the AOK's Policy Manager and provided expert advice on social policy and health care system development to the World Health Organization, the European Union and the German Federal Government. Since 2003, Mr. Knieps also serves as the editor of the journal Gesundheit und Sozialpolitik (Health and Social Policy).
Kimberly Lei is General Manager of Lilly in Germany. She is engaged in Germany's health care policy and reimbursement affairs through Germay's association of research based pharmaceutical companies (VfA) and as chair of the Health Care Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany. Prior to leading the German operations, Ms. Lei was Managing Director of Lilly in Norway, where she also served as an Executive Committee member of the American Chamber of Commerce and on the Board of Directors of Norway's association of research based pharmaceutical companies (LMI). Before moving to Norway, she was European Regional Marketing Leader based in the UK and held key marketing and sales assignments in the UK affiliate. Before joining the pharmaceutical industry she worked for Procter & Gamble as Department Manager in Manufacturing Operations in their Wisconsin and Ohio, USA, locations. She received a BS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Carolyn E. Pare is the Chief Executive Officer of the Buyer’s Health Care Action Group, a coalition of more than 30 public and private employers dedicated to health care market reform.In the twenty years since its formation, this Minnesota-based coalition has introduced a number of nationally recognized innovations in health care contracting, delivery, quality and consumerism. BHCAG’s current initiatives include Bridges to Excellence, a pay for performance program designed to improve outcomes for diabetics, people with heart and vascular disease and people suffering from depression; eValue8, an assessment of health plan support of purchaser initiatives to improve health care quality;myHealthfolio, a personal health management portfolio designed to help people manage their health and health care electronically; and the Chartered Value Exchange, a federal initiative to improve health care value in the marketplace through collaboration.
Ms. Pare was previously a director of Human Resources, responsible for Benefits, Risk Management and Human Resource Information Systems at Target Corporation.She currently serves as Vice Chair of the National Business Coalition on Health; sits on the NCQA Standards Committee and the Steering Committee of the Minnesota Alliance for Patient Safety.She also serves on the Health Care Reform Review Council, a group charged with oversight of the implementation of the health care reforms passed in the 2008 legislative session. She has served the State of Minnesota as a member of the State Quality Improvement Institute and a member Governor Pawlenty’s QCare (Quality Care and Rewarding Excellence) Council, an advisory body setting goals and standards to improve health care performance in the state. Ms. Pare was an originating board member of the Minnesota Health Care Connection and continues to assist in the development of Minnesota’s health information technology policy through her service on the Minnesota HIT Advisory Group and the Implementation Committee. She co-chairs Minnesota’s Smart Buy Alliance, an alliance of public and private purchasers committed to the alignment of value purchasing strategies.
Kathryn Pouliot is the Benefit Services Manager for Employee Benefits at the University of Minnesota, a position she has held since July 1997. She is responsible for the daily operations of the Benefit Service Center, which provides assistance to 18,000 University employees and their 19,000 dependents. The Service Center staff handles 50,000 telephone calls and counsels over 2,000 employees annually. She also administers the daily operations of the heath benefit programs, including benefit and policy interpretation, and the appeal process. Prior to the creation of the UPlan in 2001, she served as the liaison to the State of Minnesota for the insurance program. She played a key role in the implementation of the self-funded UPlan benefits program in 2002 and has extensive experience in implementing new benefit programs. She serves on the UPlan Pharmacy Clinical Committee and works very closely with the Pharmacy Benefits Manager. She serves on several internal and external University committees.
Ms. Pouliot worked at the University of Minnesota Hospital from 1989 to 1997 as an Associate Administrator responsible for the business/financial management of UMHC Patient Care Units and as Co-Director of Rehabilitation Services, leading her department during a merger of operations with Fairview Health System.
Nick Schulze-Solce, M.D., is a member of the management committee of Lilly in Germany and currently focuses on policy & government affairs. Dr. Schulze-Solce is a licensed physician and registered pharmacist. Prior to joining Lilly he practiced clinical medicine at the Department of Internal Medicine in the hospital of the Philipps University in Marburg, Germany. At Lilly he served as Clinical Research Physician and Medical Director in Germany and as Director for Scientific Affairs in Japan. From 1995 to 2000 he was Vice President Health Management Services at PCS Health Systems in Scottsdale, Arizona, a pharmaceutical benefit management company. Dr. Schulze-Solce combines a broad medical and pharmaceutical background with expertise in health care policy and reimbursement affairs including international experience. He is involved many working groups and initiatives in the health care sector and serves on the board of the Society for Health Care Policy (GRPG) and the Paul-Martini foundation.
Steven H. Sheingold, Ph.D., is Senior Health Economist and Director of the Division of Health Financing Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Sheingold’s areas of responsibility include policy analysis of Medicare’s payment systems, analysis and evaluation of Medicare’s drug benefit, technology assessment/cost effectiveness issues, quality of care issues and economic issues related to health care markets.
Prior to joining ASPE, Dr. Sheingold held several managerial and senior analyst positions within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), was a Research Scientist for Battelle's Human Affairs Research Centers, and a Principal Analyst for the Congressional Budget Office. He has published articles concerning reimbursement systems, cost effectiveness analyses, performance measurement and technology assessment in Journals such as Health Affairs, Journal of the American Medical Association, Medical Care and PharmacoEconomics.
Simon Stevens is Executive Vice President of UnitedHealth Group, President of its Global Health division, and Chairman of the UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform. His responsibilities include leading UnitedHealth's strategy for, and engagement with, national health reform, ensuring its businesses are positioned for changes in the market and regulatory environment. He also oversees the company's international businesses and operations. UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH www.unitedhealthgroup.com) funds and organizes care for over 70 million people each year, buying $100 billion of healthcare from doctors, hospitals and other health professionals in 45 countries. Stevens previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Ovations, UnitedHealth's $30 billion seniors business and the nation's largest Medicare health plan, serving nine million Medicare Supplement, Medicare Advantage, Part D and other members. Ovations is the Medicare partner of AARP and serves one-in-five Medicare beneficiaries nationwide.
Before joining UnitedHealth, Stevens was British Prime Minister Tony Blair's health policy director at 10 Downing Street, responsible for reform of the British National Health Service. He has twenty years leadership experience in healthcare policy and management in the United States and internationally, running academic medical centers, primary care, behavioral health and payer organizations, in both the public and private sectors. He was educated at Oxford University, Strathclyde University and Columbia University. He serves on the boards of a number of leading non-profit healthcare organizations in New York, Minnesota and London.