40 of the Most Powerful People in Health Care: Part 2

Since passing the Accountable Care Act in 2010, health care has become a major sticking point in the minds of millions of Americans. With the changes that have already been implemented and the upcoming changes expected in 2013, more attention is being placed on health care and who is instrumental in its successes and failures.

On January 5, Becker’s Orthopedic & Spine author Rachel Fields posted a list, “40 of the Most Powerful People in Healthcare.”

Here are the next 10 (be on the lookout for the remaining 20 to be posted over the next couple of days):

Nancy-Ann DeParle, Deputy chief of staff for policy in the Obama administration

After serving as the director of the White House Office of Health Reform, Ms. DeParle was named as one of the new White House chief of staff's deputies during a major shakeup in White House staffing in early 2011. Ms. DeParle came to the Obama administration with first-hand knowledge of the push for health reform, having served as the director of the Health Care Financing Administration from 1997-2000. She is an expert on Medicare and Medicaid and has helped the Obama administration expand those programs in the push for universal coverage.

Thomas C. Dolan, PhD, FACHE, CAE, President and CEO, ACHE

As of January 2011, the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) had 24,184 members. Prior to his appointment as president and CEO of ACHE, Dr. Dolan served as the organization's executive vice president.

Trevor Fetter, President and CEO, Tenet Healthcare

Tenet made headlines in 2011 over its relationship with Community Health Systems, first for suing the hospital operator for wrongfully billing insurers and second for rebuking CHS' offer to buy Tenet for $7.25 a share. Mr. Fetter said at the time that Tenet's business strategy would "deliver greater value than Community Health's inadequate proposal," an interesting position considering the pressure on hospital systems to be acquired by larger competitors. In April 2011, Tenet sued CHS for billing insurers for unnecessary patient stays, alleging the hospital operator made between $280 million and $377 million through improperly admitting Medicare patients between 2006 and 2007.

Teri G. Fontenot, FACHE, President and CEO, Woman’s Hospital

Ms. Fontenot has led the hospital in the development of a $400 replacement campus, which will open in summer 2012 with increased capacity for current services and new growth opportunities. In addition to her work as head of Woman's Hospital, Ms. Fontenot will serve as chairman of the American Hospital Association starting in 2012, becoming the top elected official of the organization that represents America's hospitals and health systems. Ms. Fontenot serves on the American Hospital Association Long Range Policy Committee and chairs the AHA Health Forum board. She also chairs the CEO Committee of the American College of Healthcare Executives and has served as a member of the Advisory Committee on Research on Women's Health for the National Institutes of Health and chair of the board of the Louisiana Hospital Association.

George C. Halvorson, Chairman and CEO, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan

Mr. Halvorson serves on committees and boards of several industry-leading associations, including the board of America's Health Insurance Plans, the American Hospital Association's advisory committee on health reform and the Institute of Medicine roundtable on value and science-driven health care. Kaiser has made $5.7 billion since 2009, and Mr. Halvorson was paid $8 million in total compensation in 2009 alone—a fact that has recently brought the health system under fire as 21,000 employees held a strike against the hospital chain for higher wages. Kaiser officials responded by saying they were "disappointed" by the strike by National Union of Healthcare Workers at such an early stage in contract negotiations.

Stephen J. Hemsley, CEO, UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group is the nation's largest insurance company based on revenue, pulling in $87.4 billion in revenues in 2010 and benefitting around 70 million Americans. In September 2011, UnitedHealthcare of Florida signed a contract with the state of Florida, agreeing to provide HMO services in 18 counties. The announcement came after the 1st District Court of Appeal rejected parts of a legal challenge filed by United and declined to issue a stay. The other 49 Florida counties were divided among five HMOs that reached agreements with the state separately.

Charles "Chip" Kahn III, Head of the Federation of American Hospitals

The head of the Federation of American Hospitals, Mr. Kahn acts as an influential lobbyist within the health care industry and served on the late Senate Health, Education and Labor Committee to hash out health care reform before drafting legislation. The Federation of American Hospitals has pushed for universal coverage, including the mandate that individuals carry health insurance. In early September 2011, the FAH issued a news release that commended President Obama for focusing on job growth but expressed concerns about the impact of future federal policies on America's hospitals. Mr. Kahn said in the release that the 2 percent Medicare cuts embedded in the Budget Control Act would lead by nearly 50,000 hospital job losses and $30 billion in lost wages by 2021. He said deeper Medicare and Medicaid cuts would dramatically escalate these losses.

Sister Carol Keehan, DC, President and CEO, Catholic Health Association of the US

Sister Keehan is responsible for all association operations and leads CHA's staff at offices in Washington, DC, and St. Louis. She publicly supported the Affordable Care Act but has criticized Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' narrow religious exemptions for the provision of contraception. On August 1, 2011, HHS announced that only certain religious institutions could opt out of providing contraception, a move that Sister Keehan said would not "protect our Catholic health providers."

Jeremy Lazarus, MD, President-elect, AMA

Representing the AMA on the Health Coverage Coalition for the Uninsured, Dr. Lazarus has been one of the organization's chief spokespersons on issues involving the uninsured. He is only the second psychiatrist to be president of the AMA.

H. Stephen Lieber, CAE, President and CEO, HIMSS

In his role as leader of HIMSS, Mr. Lieber has established the Society as a global leader on technology standards, IT adoption, IT certification, electronic health records and interoperability. In a February 2011 interview with Mobi Health News, Mr. Lieber said health care is on the cusp of a "mobile era," and the presence of mobile content at the HIMSS conference demonstrates that transition.

Part 1 (1-10) Part 2 (11-20) Part 3 (21-30) Part 4 (31-40)

Source:Fields, R. (January 5, 2012). 40 of the Most Powerful People in Healthcare. Becker's Orthopedic & Spine.