Becker's Hospital Review

Sign up for the COMPLIMENTARY Becker's Hospital Review CEO Report & CFO Report E-Weeklies at www.BeckersHospitalReview.com or call (800) 417-2035 15 50 of the Most Powerful People in Healthcare By Bob Herman Many sectors in the healthcare industry have played major roles in shaping the system we have today: hospitals, health systems, physicians, nurses, health insurance companies, scientists, researchers, politicians, advocacy groups, lobbyists, journalists, Wall Streeters and more. As we gear up for 2014, here are 50 of the most powerful people who have shaped policy, thoughts, operations and management in healthcare. Joel Allison. Mr. Allison serves as CEO of Baylor Scott & White Health in Dallas. This past year, he oversaw the merger of Baylor Health Care System and Scott & White Healthcare, creating Baylor Scott & White. The new organization, which is the largest nonprofit health system in Texas, includes 43 hospitals, more than 6,000 physicians, 34,000 employees, the Scott & White Health Plan and about $8.3 billion in combined assets. Mr. Allison has been with Baylor since 1993, when he was the system's senior executive vice president and COO, before becoming Baylor's president and CEO in 2000. He also has a national presence, serving on the Healthcare Leadership Council and The Joint Commission board of commissioners. Mark Bertolini. As chairman, president and CEO of Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna, Mr. Bertolini oversees a health insurer with more than $35.5 billion in revenue, according to 2012 figures. Earlier this year, Aetna closed on its deal to acquire Coventry Health Care, a prominent health insurer for Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care plans. The transaction was valued at $7.3 billion, including $5.7 billion in cash and stock. Mr. Bertolini has been with Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna since 2003, joining as head of the company's specialty products. Prior to joining Aetna, he held executive positions at Cigna, NYLCare Health Plans and SelectCare. ernment relations and was promoted to vice president of the administration division. She temporarily left ACHE in 2000, becoming deputy executive director of the Society of Actuaries. She then served as ACHE's executive vice president and COO before taking over as CEO in May 2013, succeeding Tom Dolan. Steven Brill. Mr. Brill — a journalist, lawyer and founder of both CourtTV and American Lawyer — made waves after writing one of the most extensive exposés on the U.S. health system. The report, "Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us," appeared in the March 4, 2013, issue of TIME. The 24,000-plus word article took up the entire feature section of the magazine, the first time in the history of TIME that has happened. The article specifically pointed a magnifying glass at hospitals, explaining that patients are in the "ultimate seller's market" because prices at hospitals are neither transparent "nor do they seem to be based on anything objective." Mr. Brill's report partly prompted CMS to release troves of data on inpatient and outpatient hospital charges in May. Following the article's publication, many other states, like North Carolina and Arizona, also passed legislation requiring hospitals to post chargemaster prices. Bruce Broussard. Effective January 2013, Mr. Broussard became president and CEO of health insurer Humana, based in Louisville, Ky., replacing Mike McCallister. In 2012, Humana posted more than $39.1 billion in revenue and net profit of $1.2 billion. Over the past few years, Humana has become more involved with hospital-payer negotiations centered on care coordination and accountable care for its Medicare Advantage population. The insurer has also been active within the PPACA insurance marketplaces, although it expects enrollment will lag due to problems associated with the exchange website. Mr. Broussard joined Humana as president in December 2011 after serving as CEO of McKesson Specialty/U.S. Oncology. Leah Binder. Since 2008, Ms. Binder has served as CEO of The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit organization that focuses on the safety, quality and affordability of healthcare. Leapfrog is most known for its annual Leapfrog Hospital Survey, which compares the safety, quality and efficiency of all hospitals across the country. Under Ms. Binder's leadership, Leapfrog launched the Hospital Safety Score, a system that assigns a letter grade to every hospital based on how safe that institution is for patients. Before Leapfrog, she spent eight years as vice president of Franklin Community Health Network in Farmington, Maine. She also was a senior policy adviser for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Bill Carpenter. Mr. Carpenter is chairman and CEO of LifePoint Hospitals in Brentwood, Tenn. The for-profit hospital system owns and operates roughly 60 hospitals, mostly small community providers, in 20 states. In 2012, LifePoint posted $151.9 million of profit on more than $3 billion of revenue. The company grew significantly throughout 2013, acquiring several new hospitals and building upon Duke LifePoint Healthcare, its joint venture with Durham, N.C.-based Duke University Health System. Mr. Carpenter was a founding employee of LifePoint in 1999 and previously served as the company's executive vice president, senior vice president and general counsel. He also is a trustee and past board chair of the Federation of American Hospitals, the primary lobbying group for investor-owned hospitals. Deborah Bowen. Ms. Bowen is president and CEO of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the preeminent professional society for hospital and health system leaders. Currently, ACHE is home to more than 40,000 healthcare executives, offering credentials and board certification in healthcare management. Ms. Bowen joined ACHE's staff in 1992 as director of gov- Christine Cassel, MD. In 2013, the National Quality Forum appointed Dr. Cassel as its new president and CEO. The NQF, which receives funding from the government, private sources and foundations, aims to improve the quality of U.S. healthcare through the creation of standards, education and publicly measured and reported performance. Dr. Cassel, a leader in the fields of geriatric medicine, internal 50 of the Most Powerful People in Healthcare The U.S. healthcare system is heading into one of its most monumental years in decades, as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will go into near-full motion.

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