Governor Steve Beshear has named the members of the state health insurance exchange board.The now-19 member board includes top level officials from Kentucky's major insurers, including Anthem, Humana and Bluegrass Family Health.It also includes represents from the state’s major hospitals, including Central Baptist in Lexington and KentuckyOne Health, which operates statewide.Patient advocate groups, including Kentucky Voices for Health, AARP and Kentucky Youth Advocates, also have seats on the board.The board’s purpose is to review policies and make recommendations for Kentucky’s state-run health insurance exchange, which is part of the Affordable Care Act. Residents will be able to compare and purchase health insurance plans using the exchange.The state must prove by the end of the year it can run the system, otherwise the federal government will take control.Here are the board members, from the governor's office:
- Deborah Moessner, of Louisville, is president and general manager at Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield. She represents insurers.
- Jeff Bringardner, of Louisville, is president of Humana Inc., Kentucky. He represents insurers.
- Carl Felix, of Frankfort, is chief operating officer at Bluegrass Family Health. He represents insurers.
- Marcus G. Woodward, of Ashland, is a health insurance broker at Woodward & Associates. He represents insurance agents.
- Connie Hauser, of Barbourville, is a physical therapist at P.T. Pros Inc. She represents non-facility based providers.
- John Thompson, of Lexington, is a dentist at Thompson, Lee & Lee P.S.C. He represents non-facility based providers.
- Dr. Michael Huang, of Lexington, is a General Internal Medicine physician at Kentucky Clinic South. He represents non-facility based providers.
- Ruth Brinkley, of Louisville, is president of KentuckyOne Health. She represents facility based healthcare providers.
- Julie Paxton, of Prestonsburg, is an attorney for Mountain Comprehensive Care Center. She represents facility based healthcare providers.
- Ed Erway, of Lexington, is chief revenue officer at University of Kentucky Healthcare. He represents facility based healthcare providers.
- Donna Ghobadi, of Lexington, is vice president of revenue cycle at Central Baptist Hospital. She represents facility based healthcare providers.
- Joe Ellis, of Benton, is an optometrist at EyeCare Associates of Kentucky. He represents small employers doing business in Kentucky.
- Gabriela Alcalde, of Louisville, is a health policy officer at Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. She represents individual purchasers of health benefit plans in Kentucky.
- David Allgood, of Louisville, is director of advocacy at the Center for Accessible Living and a member of the board of directors of Kentucky Voices for Health. He represents consumer advocates or consumer representatives.
- Andrea Bennett, of Louisville, is deputy director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. She represents consumer advocates or consumer representatives.
- Tihisha Rawlins, of Louisville, is associate state director of AARP. She represents consumer advocates or consumer representatives.
- Sharon Clark is the Commissioner of the Department of Insurance. She serves as an ex officio member. The Governor also appointed Clark as chair of the board.
- Lawrence Kissner is the Commissioner of the Department for Medicaid Services. He serves as an ex officio member.
- Stephen R. Hall is Commissioner of the Department for Behavioral Health and Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities. He serves as an ex officio member.
