Editorial Advisory Board

FierceHealthPayer has assembled a team of leading health insurance industry experts and executives to serve as advisers to FierceHealthPayer and its related publications. This diverse panel of thought leaders will share their first-hand experience along with insights on the latest industry news and trends. The board will advise our editors on a range of topics--from new payment models to fraud prevention to health insurance exchanges and more.

Jim Bixler

Jim Bixler
Vice President of Ethics & Compliance, Ret.
WellPoint

Jim Bixler is the former vice president of ethics and compliance at Indianapolis-based WellPoint, where he led the corporate team composed of ethics, compliance, regulatory oversight and privacy. He also served as WellPoint's privacy officer. He now sits on the executive board of the USO of Indiana.


Ingrid C. Lindberg

Ingrid C. Lindberg
Chief Customer Experience Officer
Prime Therapeutics

Ingrid C. Lindberg is the chief customer experience officer at Prime Therapeutics where she is responsible for developing and overseeing the implementation of the enterprise customer experience strategy, which addresses all matters related to how Prime engages and serves its customers. Her role within Prime is the first of its kind within the pharmacy benefit management industry and has been created to ensure Prime's customers have the best pharmacy experience possible and that the voice of the customer is a driver within the decision-making processes at Prime.


Daryl Wansink

Daryl Wansink
Director Health Economics
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina

Daryl Wansink, Ph.D., has 17 years of experience in the health insurance industry, the last six years with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina as the director of health economics. His work encompasses both the evaluation of health management programs and the segmentation strategy to engage patients in the programs. Daryl provides analytic support for the design and implementation of provider quality and efficiency programs, such as pay for performance, tiering and quality recognition. He also studies  the impact of benefit design on health behavior.


Julie Slezak

Julie Slezak
Chief Analytics Officer
CareCore National

Julie Slezakis responsible for providing overall analytical leadership to CareCore National, including analytic and data strategy, research, methodology development, and analytical product development.  She specializes in outcomes research data analysis and big data use. Her background and training come from 10 years at the University of Illinois' School of Public Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics division, where she studied and worked.


Laurie Wesolowicz

Laurie Wesolowicz
Director of Clinical Pharmacy
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

Laurie Wesolowicz, Pharm. D, is the director of Clinical Pharmacy at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. She leads formulary development, specialty pharmacy initiatives, pharmacy-related physician pay-for-performance incentives, integrated pharmacy-care management programs, and clinical utilization management operations, including pharmacy-related fraud, waste and abuse.


Debbie Gordon

Debbie Gordon
VP of Marketing, Sales and Product Strategy for Senior Products
Tufts Health Plan

Debbie Gordon is vice president of Marketing, Sales and Product Strategy for Senior Products at Massachusetts-based Tufts Health Plan. She previously severed as Network Health's vice president and chief marketing officer, where she lead strategic planning, business development, provider communication, governmental affairs, and marketing strategy and implementation efforts.


Doug Cedras

Doug Cedras
Director of Corporate and Financial Investigations
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

Doug Cedras is director of Corporate and Financial Investigations for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, headquartered in Detroit. He has spoken about the use of advanced analytics to fight healthcare fraud and root out improper payments.


Shaun Greene

Shaun Greene
Chief Operating Officer
Arches Health Plan

Shaun Greene is founder and chief operating officer of Arches Health Plan in Salt Lake City, a nonprofit, member-owned health plan funded under the Affordable Care Act. As the chief operating officer, he has worked extensively with the National Alliance of State Health CO-OPs (NASHCO) and other CO-OP leadership to identify and develop the operational strategies for these highly complex businesses during a period of extensive regulatory and political disruption.


Brian Lobley

Brian Lobley
SVP of Marketing and Consumer Business
Independence Blue Cross

Brian Lobley is senior vice president of marketing and consumer business at Philadelphia-based Independence Blue Cross. He is responsible for product services, retail capabilities and eBusiness. Lobley leads our efforts to develop and execute a winning strategy for the individual market and exchanges, as well as to ensure that we are innovating in our products across all commercial and retail lines.


Michael Samuelson

Michael Samuelson
SVP, Health and Wellness, Ret.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island

Michael Samuelson is the former senior vice president of health and wellness at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island, as well as the founding president and CEO of The Health & Wellness Institute. His professional resume includes successful entrepreneur, senior executive in the health insurance industry, CEO, university professor and U.S. health policy advisor.


Melanie Wilhoite

Melanie Wilhoite
Director, Marketing and Brand Management
Premera Blue Cross / LifeWise Health Plan of WA and OR

As director of marketing and brand management at Premera Blue Cross, Melanie Wilhoite brings more than 25 years' experience in management, branding, consumer product, healthcare and technology public relations, and business-to-business and corporate communications.  Prior to Premera, Wilhoite developed brand identities and integrated marketing strategies for Edelman clients, including Zimmer, Allied Feather and Down, Panama Canal Authority and Healthways.