Most Influential in Specialty Health

You know them – that colleague whose specialty health career is a calling they answer with a passion and dedication so strong and vast that their accomplishments ripple through the entire industry. Whether they’ve advanced specialty health’s mission through relentless advocacy and marketing or raised the bar on the services offered or facilitated ease of access to reach a wider population, NASHO wants to formally recognize these trailblazers with our annual Most Influential in Specialty Health Award, but we need your help.

Nominations
From now until March 22, 2013, NASHO will accept nominations for this distinguished award. Nominees should be executives from specialty health plans or provider networks that facilitate and support the delivery of specialty services including dental, vision, hearing, pharmacy benefit management, behavioral health, chiropractic, complementary and alternative medicine, physical therapy, radiology management and other ancillary services. The award is intended for individuals whose drive, passion and efforts serve not just their own professional interests or those of their corporation, but the greater good of the industry as a whole.

You may nominate someone by clicking on this link and providing basic information regarding the individual and the reason for their nomination.

Deadline for nominations will be 11:59 pm EDT on March 22, 2013. All nominees will be notified by NASHO asking that accept they nomination by providing a bio and photograph.

NASHO will compile all information on the nominees and put in ballot form to be disseminated to those voting on the award.

Judging Process
What better way to identify those who have shown the value of specialty health than the purchasers of specialty health. The award will be voted on by employers, executives from health plans, TPAs and Brokers. They will be asked to make their selection based on the following criteria:

Visibility – The individual and organizations visibility in the market place
Contribution – The value they provide to the industry
Influence – They have increased the visibility of the industry
Reputation – They promote quality and high standards for the industry

Ballots will be sent out on March 25, 2013 and must be returned no later than March 29, 2013.

Past Award Recipients

2012
Karen S. Rohan, President of Magellan Health Services, the country’s leading specialty health care management organization. The award, voted upon by purchasers of specialty health (health plans, insurance brokers, third party administrators, etc.), recognizes leaders in specialty health who have played a major role in raising the profile of and easing access to high-quality specialty health services. Rohan’s passion, commitment to excellence and ensuing influence drew the admiration of industry peers who nominated and ultimately selected her for this honor. Besides advancing Magellan from a collection of regionally-focused behavioral care companies to a nationwide premier specialty health care organization offering a broad product portfolio, Rohan innovated an approach that combines medical with behavioral care to improve health outcomes. Specifically, she spearheaded the development and implementation of integrated health homes in Arizona and Iowa serving Medicare recipients with serious mental illness. Outside of Magellan, Rohan – a running enthusiast committed to health and wellness – serves as a robust advocate for Share Our Strength, a national movement to end childhood hunger by 2015.

2011
The 2011 Award reciepent was Rob Lynch, President and CEO of VSP Global^SM. Mr. Lynch’s frontline advocacy garnered the admiration of industry peers to merit this honor. Beyond overseeing noteworthy growth at VSP, Rob Lynch led efforts to raise awareness about the impact of healthcare reform not only to vision care but also to other specialty health companies. He spearheaded the establishment of a national consortium of dental and vision companies that ultimately mitigated many of the potential negative impacts to the specialty health industry, and often served as a media spokesman to draw attention to the issues associated with this debate.

2010
The Inaugural Recipient of NASHO’S MOST INFLUENTIAL IN SPECIALTY HEALTH AWARD was Mr. George DeVries. As Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder of American Specialty Health, Inc., Mr. DeVries has guided ASH’S growth to become the largest specialty health plan, insurer, and network administrator nationally for complementary and alternative health care—covering over 13 million Americans. His belief in both creativity and accountability has fueled a variety of industry ‘firsts’ at ASH, including the creation of the first specialty health plans for chiropractic and acupuncture, the first national insurer for complementary and alternative medicine, and receiving the first national accreditation for a specialty complementary/ alternative health plan.