Health Care Stakeholder Advisory Committee

Public comment

All Health Care Stakeholder Advisory Committee meetings are public meetings, and members of the public are welcome and encouraged to share their input. All feedback is shared with board members.

Share your input

There are two ways to share input:

• During a board meeting, there is a designated time for public comment. To provide public comment during the designated public comment period, please use the raise hand function in Zoom or raise your hand if you are attending in person.
• By contacting us at any time. If you want your written comments to be included in an upcoming meeting, email your comments to us 10 days before that meeting occurs.

Meetings

Dates, times, and materials for upcoming and past meetings are available on the Cost Board's Meetings and materials page.

Committee members

Bob Crittenden, MD, MPH

Physician and consultant

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Dr. Crittenden has focused on developing the Equity for Essential Worker Fund that has supported assistance programs in four counties in Washington State. This program is focused on Latino farm workers who are without documentation and need assistance with quarantine and isolation. He has also been a consultant and advisor with tribes and foundations.

Prior to the pandemic, he was Executive in Residence at the Cambia Grove, a program that encourages innovation focused on solving health system problems. He practiced as a family physician for over 37 years in central and southeast Seattle with urban underserved populations, worked for the state Legislature, has been a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow with Senator George Mitchell, was special assistant to Governor Gardner for health, and is a Professor Emeritus in the Departments of Family Medicine and Health Services at the University of Washington.

His work on projects at the local, state, and national levels focuses on improving the access and effectiveness of health services for all populations. He was founding executive director of the Herndon Alliance, a coalition of 200 national and local organizations that focused on communications supporting the passage and defense of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

After that, he served as Governor Jay Inslee's Senior Health Policy Advisor, where he oversaw the implementation of the ACA in Washington State and the successful Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration waiver, known as the Medicaid Transformation Project. He has also played a key role in initiating the Kids Get Care program, actively participating in rural and urban underserved health systems improvements, and working with insurers, employers, and providers in improving systems of care for chronic conditions.

Dr. Crittenden received his BA in Communications and Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley and a diploma in Political Theory and Development Economics from Oxford University. He went on to earn his medical degree at the University of Washington School of Medicine and his master's in Public Health in Health Services from the University of Washington.

Bill Ely

Vice president of actuarial services, Kaiser Permanente

William (Bill) Ely has over 35 years of experience in the insurance industry, both in consulting and corporate roles. Bill is currently vice president of actuarial services for Kaiser Permanente. Bill's responsibilities include overseeing actuarial functions for the Northwest, Washington, and Hawaii regions of Kaiser Permanente. Prior to his recent relocation to Renton, Washington, Bill was also responsible for actuarial functions for individual and small group lines of business nationally.

Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente, he held a variety of positions in the industry, including chief actuary for a 600,000-member blues plan, senior consultant for an international actuarial firm, and chief executive officer and founder of a health care consulting company for over 10 years.

Bill is an active member of the Society of Actuaries professional organization, served on the board of directors for Oregon's Temporary Reinsurance program and the Oregon Medical Insurance Pool, and has been involved in many internal and external working groups relating to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and coordinated care organizations.

Paul Fishman, PhD

Professor, Dept. of Health Services, University of Washington

Dr. Paul Fishman is a professor and associate director of health information and health management programs at the University of Washington (UW) where he teaches classes in health economics and health policy — both practice and research.

Before joining the UW full-time in 2015, he was an affiliate faculty member at the School of Public Health during his employment at Group Health where he worked for 23 years as a scientific investigator at the Group Health Research Institute (now the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute).

His research experience includes analyses of direct health care costs from social, patient, and payer perspective for a wide range of acute and chronic illnesses. Dr. Fishman also has experience in alternative payment models and in the development and application of risk adjustment tools. He is an expert in the use of health service data from electronic health records and claims for economic analysis.

Dr. Fishman has a PhD in Economics from the UW.

Jodi Joyce, BSN

Chief executive officer, Unity Care Northwest

Jodi has extensive experience in improving access to and affordability of health and health care in large and small organizations and multi-system collaborations. At Unity Care Northwest, Jodi oversees the integration of health care services and delivery of innovative, whole-person care that has reduced health care cost growth.

Before working for Unity Care Northwest, Jodi served as the chief quality officer and associate vice chancellor for Quality & Patient Safety at the University of Illinois Hospital & Clinics. In this role, Jodi led a seven-year "improvement journey" that included improving price transparency for patients and achieving large reductions in health care costs. This work was accomplished through implementing key programs that reduced a patient's barriers to access.

Jodi has also served in senior leadership roles at Kaiser Permanente and Portland-based Legacy Health. In addition, she is an inaugural member of Washington State's Bree Collaborative. Jodi earned her MBA at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business and her BSN at Northwestern University, and served as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellow.

Louise Kaplan, BA, MN, PhD

Associate professor, Washington State University College of Nursing Vancouver

Dr. Louise Kaplan, an associate professor in the Washington State University College of Nursing, has more than 20 years of academic experience. A family nurse practitioner since 1981, she has extensive primary care clinical experience. Her PhD focused on health policy and she has been actively engaged in legislative and regulatory changes throughout her career.

Dr. Kaplan has conducted research and published on topics including APRN workforce issues, NP education, prescribing of controlled substances, prescriptive authority, and medical marijuana. Active in many professional organizations, she chairs the legislative committee of ARNPs United of Washington State and serves on the organization's Board of Directors. Dr. Kaplan is also the Washington State representative for the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. She is a member of the Washington State Nurses Association's Hall of Fame, and a fellow of both the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the American Academy of Nursing.

She has a BA from Simmons College, Boston, Massachusetts, an MN from the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, and a PhD from Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts.

Stacy Kessel, CPA

Chief finance and strategy officer, Community Health Plan of Washington

Stacy Kessel is the chief finance and strategy officer at Community Health Plan of Washington and Community Health Network of Washington. Stacy has over 32 years of experience as a finance professional and leader in the health care industry, with the last 14 years with her current employer. Her career started with six years at Deloitte & Touche, followed by time at MultiCare Health System, Premera, and First Choice Health.

Stacy earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Central Washington University and is a Certified Public Accountant. She has been a member of both the Washington Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs for more than 25 years. She is currently serving on the Board for the Association of Washington Healthcare Plans and previously served as a committee member for the Washington Health Benefit Exchange Advisory Committee.

Ross Laursen, BS

Vice president of healthcare economics, Premera Blue Cross

Ross is vice president of Healthcare Economics, where he leads several teams that provide actuarial and analytic support for Premera's provider management and network development activities. Ross provides strategic leadership on topics and trends, including value-based payment initiatives.

Ross joined Premera in 2005. Prior to that he was a principal and consulting actuary, specializing in health care, with the consulting firm of Milliman for 12 years.

Ross is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Pacific Lutheran University.

Todd Lovshin

Vice president and Washington State executive, PacificSource Health Plans

Todd Lovshin is a health care executive with over 20 years of experience in the health insurance and employee benefits industry. He has extensive experience in building collaborative provider partnerships focused on value-based arrangements and broad expertise in market analysis and development of reimbursement models to achieve both cost and quality goals across all lines of business.

Todd serves as the vice president and Washington State executive for PacificSource Health Plans where he has worked since 2012 and is a member of the executive management group. He has overall responsibilities for business development and operations in Washington, serves as the executive leader for Washington issues related to media, legislative, regulatory, business, key provider interactions, and community activities.

On behalf of PacificSource, he has served on boards/committees, such as the Montana Governor's Healthcare Innovation Task Force, Primary Care MedicalHome Task Force, and the Montana Comprehensive Health Association — High Risk Pool.

Todd studied business administration and political science at the University of Montana.

Vicki Lowe

Executive director, American Indian Health Commission

Vicki Lowe, a descendant of the Jamestown S'Klallam and Bella Coola First Nations, began working in the Jamestown Tribes Health Program and has seen this program through many changes in the world of health care. In July of 2015, Ms. Lowe became the executive director of the American Indian Health Commission (AIHC). Working with the AIHC, she has utilized her vast knowledge of the Indian health care delivery system, state and federal regulations that govern Indian health, to implement statewide strategies supporting Tribal and Urban Indian health programs. Some of these efforts include:

• Developed Tribal Assister Project and Indian Health Care Reform Manual for Washington State.
• Ensure tribal engagement and inclusion in Medicaid Transformation.
• Help with drafting and passage of the Washington Indian Health Improvement Act (2019) and the Washington Indian Behavioral Health Act (2020).

Ms. Lowe is also very involved in the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribal Community. She has been part of the Jamestown Canoe Family since 2009, pulling in the Tribe's canoe since 2012. She supports singing and drumming, language, weaving classes, and other culture programs. In 2012, she was honored as the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe's Volunteer of the Year.

J. Michael (Mike) Marsh, MHA

President and chief executive officer, Overlake Hospital and Medical Center

Mike Marsh joined Overlake Medical Center in April 2014 to serve as the organization's president and chief executive officer. With 36 years of experience in strategy, business development, and operations supporting hospitals and health systems, Marsh has demonstrated success at all levels of management within different markets and across the entire continuum of care.

Prior to joining Overlake, Marsh spent 26 years with Providence Health and Services, with 14 of those years in senior executive positions. In his most recent role, he served as chief administrative officer for Providence's Western Washington region.

From 2006 - 2011, Marsh served as both chief operating officer and chief strategic officer for Providence's Washington/Montana region supporting five markets (1,700 beds, 500 physicians, 25,000 employees) and a full continuum of post-acute services. In this role, he was additionally responsible for information services, communications, advocacy/government relations, strategy/business development and physician services.

Marsh is known and well respected for his proven ability to provide strategic leadership at all levels of the organization and across diverse markets. He is a skilled negotiator and consensus builder who can synthesize complex topics quickly and galvanize commitment in order to consistently achieve desired and targeted results.

Marsh holds a master's degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Washington.

Natalia Martinez-Kohler, BA, CPA

Chief financial officer, MultiCare Behavioral Health Network and South King Region

Natalia Martinez-Kohler started out in public accounting with Arthur Andersen after graduating from Pacific Lutheran University with her BA in Business Administration (concentrations in accounting and financial resource management), where she quickly started focusing on healthcare clients.

In 1999, she started with MultiCare Health System where she has served for 22 years. In her tenure there, she has supported financial planning and analytics across both system office and operational finance teams. This includes supporting and leading various cost structure improvement opportunities, benchmarking and productivity efforts, and supporting growth efforts, including several certificate of need applications.

She currently serves as the vice president of strategic finance, and chief financial officer for the Behavioral Health Network. In this role, as part of the executive team, she has responsibility for financial results of the Behavioral Health Network.

Natalia has her master's from University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. She is a licensed CPA and maintains a CHFP certification through HFMA.

Mika Sinanan

Surgeon and medical director, UW Medical Center

Dr. Sinanan is an academic gastrointestinal surgeon at the University of Washington, based in Seattle at the University of Washington Medical Center Montlake. His practice is focused on complex preoperative gastrointestinal surgery, inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer, and complex hernias.

He has served in several administrative roles, including on the Executive Committee of the Washington State Medical Association since 2016, currently as president-elect. He was president of the University of Washington Physicians practice plan from 2008 to 2016. For the past four years, he has worked on value-based care and payer issues with the University of Washington Medicine contracting team in the role of medical director for value-based specialty care.

At the state level, Dr. Sinanan is on the Health Care Authority's Health Technology Clinical Committee. At the national level, he completed 12 years as a member of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Board of Governors (BoG), serving the ACS in the last two years as secretary on the Executive Committee of the BoG until 2020.

His experiences working in the operating room and clinic environments and working with the Washington State Medical Association and ACS have instilled in him a keen interest in the costs, efficient resource use, and limitations of our current health care financial model.

Dorothy Teeter

Consultant, Teeter Health Strategies

Dorothy Frost Teeter is principal/owner of Teeter Health Strategies consultancy, which specializes in value-based payment reform and related health system transformation. She has over 30 years of public and private health system leadership and executive experience. Prior to establishing her consulting firm, she served as the director of Health Care Authority (HCA).

In her role as agency director, Dorothy oversaw policy, programs, and operations for HCA, and administered an annual health care services budget of over $10 billion for the Medicaid and the Public Employee programs. She led the HCA's nationally recognized approaches to value-based purchasing and population health reform, including the integration of physical and behavioral health services purchasing and care delivery, and the design/startup funding for Washington's Accountable Communities of Health.

She also chaired the Washington State Health Performance Measures Committee, creating a common set of quality and health measures for the state and other purchasers/plans use in contracting for value. A member of the Governor's Cabinet, she also served on the board of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, led the Healthier Washington plan for statewide health system transformation, and directed the successful implementation of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion for Washington State.

In her role as agency director, Dorothy played a significant role in securing a $65 million State Innovation Models grant from Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) and a $1.3 billion Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration waiver from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid to further Washington State's transformation goals.

Prior to HCA, Dorothy served as senior advisor for Policy and Programs at CMMI. In this role, Dorothy directed the development, launch, and awarding of CMMI's initial $1 billion investment in its Health Care Innovation Award program, and served as the liaison to numerous federal health agencies who partnered with CMMI.

Dorothy previously served as director and chief of health operations for Public Health-Seattle and King County, a major metropolitan public health department. She has also served as a senior executive at Group Health Cooperative, where she designed and led its population-based quality of care improvement and care management strategies, and as an administrator at Seattle Children's Hospital and Medical Center.

Dorothy earned a master's in health services administration from the University of Washington and serves on the clinical faculty at the School of Public Health in the University of Washington.

Wes Waters, BSBA, MBA

Chief financial officer, Molina Healthcare of Washington, Inc.

In March of 2019, James "Wes" Waters joined Molina Healthcare of Washington, Inc. as regional chief financial officer for Washington, Utah, and Idaho ($3.8 billion revenue/980,000 members). With the significant expansion in membership and revenue for Molin ($4 billion revenue and 1 million members), Wes in now focused exclusively on the Washington health plan.

Wes brings over 27 years of broad managed care financial and operational experience in managed care. Between 2015 and 2019, Wes worked for various local and national health care organizations as chief financial officer, helped lead the sale of Advicare (Medicaid managed care organization) to WellCare, helped launch 16 ISNP HMOs in multiple states (AllyAlign), and restructured the financial operations of Wellpoint Washington (previously Amerigroup) — Tennessee.

He earned a BSBA in general business management with concentration in Economics and Computer Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis, as well as a Master's in business administration with a concentration in healthcare.