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This year’s ‘2021 ROI Influencers: Health Care list’ is a mix of those leading some of the world’s most important companies and those running some of the state’s most important hospitals and health systems.

Here is what ROI-NJ has to say about the Horizon BCBSNJ employees represented in their prestigious list.

Gary St. Hilaire:

“St. Hilaire always prefers to let the work at Horizon BCBSNJ speak for itself. It has a lot to say. Horizon’s impact and influence during the pandemic cannot be overstated, as the state’s largest insurer (by far) not only has smoothed the way for so many to get coverage for COVID-19-related issues, it has improved the ease-of-use for telehealth so much that everyone (users, providers) is now comfortable with it being part of the mainstream care coverage moving forward. That’s impact.”

Valerie Harr:

“The state’s leading health care institutions have known for years that social determinants of health are one of the biggest — if not the biggest — influencers of health care in the state and country. Valerie Harr (Director of Community Health at Horizon BCBSNJ) … leading efforts to prevent health issues before they start.”

Uli Diaz:

“Veteran lobbyist knows how to network with politicians and executives — and his skills and experience allow him to quell a firestorm or two, often an underappreciated skill in Trenton. He has a long history of success in the capital, where he is held in high regard. More impressively, he is known and liked in both north and south political camps — a big deal in the Garden State. He is someone you want on your side.”

Alan Karp

“The resume says he leads Horizon’s health care value strategy and clinical and network operations — as well as the pharmacy, behavioral health and health care analytics organizations. But it’s more than that. With more than three decades of experience in leading health care delivery and service organizations, he is a go-to person at the organization at every level. His innovative approaches have helped the organization move away from fee-for-service to a value-based model that rewards doctors and hospitals for quality, cost-effective care and enhanced member experience.”

Suzanne Kunis

“She brings more than 30 years of experience in the health care industry with a significant focus on behavioral health. A registered nurse, she joined Horizon in 2017 to lead the development of the long-term strategy for integrating medical and behavioral health services. She is responsible for the development of new behavioral health capabilities, programs and services, including issues around the opioid crisis and, now, all of the issues stemming from the pandemic, including waves of people newly diagnosed with anxiety or depression, including first responders and frontline medical workers.”

Don Liss

“Using a mandate of “Do what’s best for our members and providers,” Liss led an internal team of senior officials tasked with one goal: Ensure members’ medical needs came before financial concerns. He has been one of the pillars of Horizon’s efforts during the pandemic — and someone the state’s largest insurer will look to as it continues to move to a value-based model using some of the new-age techniques the company has learned during the pandemic.”

Vijay Venkatesan

“Big Data is changing health care, and Venkatesan is leading Horizon’s push to bring disparate sources of data together and use it to drive improvements in clinical outcomes that can lower the overall cost of care. He focuses on integrating and enriching data from multiple sources, deploying predictive analytics that rely on artificial intelligence to anticipate the future, integrating with clinical partners to develop clinical interventions and solutions, and aligning Horizon’s product strategy with all those business solutions.”

You can view the full article here