The LAN Welcomes Vanetta Abdellatif and Mark Friedberg to Its Health Equity Advisory Team
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 19, 2023)
The Health Care Payment Learning & Action Network (LAN) is proud to announce the addition of Vanetta Abdellatif and Dr. Mark Friedberg to its Health Equity Advisory Team (HEAT). Comprised of regional and national health equity implementers and subject-matter experts, the HEAT plays a crucial role in identifying and prioritizing opportunities to advance health equity through alternative payment models (APMs).
- Vanetta Abdellatif, President and CEO of Arcora Foundation, the foundation of Delta Dental of Washington, brings a wealth of experience and commitment to advancing oral health and equity across Washington state. With a background in strategic leadership, Vanetta builds and maintains partnerships to bring about systemic changes resulting in improved oral and overall health outcomes. Under her guidance Arcora prioritizes initiatives targeting Black, Indigenous, and other underrepresented communities with the goal of eliminating health disparities and enhancing the overall health landscape.
- Dr. Mark Friedberg, MD, MPP, Senior Vice President of Performance Measurement & Improvement at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA), assumes a pivotal role in enhancing the quality and equity performance of BCBSMA’s provider network. Having led the design of BCBSMA’s pay-for-equity program, Mark applies financial incentives directly to measures of health equity. Before joining BCBSMA, Mark served as a health services researcher at RAND, focusing on measuring, evaluating, and improving health system performance. He completed his residency and fellowship as a general internist providing primary care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
“We are thrilled to announce the newest members of our HEAT team, Vanetta Abdellatif and Mark Friedberg. Vanetta’s extensive background in oral health and commitment to underrepresented communities in Washington state promises a fresh and dynamic perspective for the team in the coming year. Meanwhile, Mark brings invaluable knowledge from his work at Blue Cross of Massachusetts, and we anticipate his insights on financial incentives and strategies for promoting health equity will contribute to our ambitious initiatives in 2024 and beyond!”- HEAT co-chair Karen Dale, Market President, AmeriHealth Caritas, District of Columbia.
With its diverse and dedicated membership, the HEAT is well-positioned to address the factors that drive health inequities. Vanetta’s strong foundation in community building and Mark’s experience in performance measurement will play a pivotal role in ensuring that the LAN continues to shape priorities and initiatives that positively impact the nation’s health care system in 2024.
# # #
About the LAN
The LAN started in 2015 and is an active group of public and private health care leaders dedicated to providing thought leadership, strategic direction, and ongoing support to accelerate our care system’s adoption of APMs. The LAN mobilizes payers, providers, purchasers, patients, product manufacturers, policymakers, and others in a shared mission to lower care costs, improve patient experiences and outcomes, reduce the barriers to APM participation, and promote shared accountability. Find more information here.
Purchasers
Enabling Organizations | 
Policy Makers
Community Organizations
Emily DuHamel Brower, M.B.A., is senior vice president of clinical integration and physician services for Trinity Health. Emphasizing clinical integration and payment model transformation, Ms. Brower provides strategic direction related to the evolving accountable healthcare environment with strong results. Her team is currently accountable for $10.4B of medical expense for 1.6M lives in Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid and Commercial Alternative Payment Models.
Mr. James Sinkoff is the Deputy Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer for Sun River Health (formerly known as Hudson River HealthCare), and the Chief Executive Officer of Solutions 4 Community Health (S4CH); an MSO serving FQHCs and private physician practices.
Victor is the Chief Medical Officer for TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid Agency. At TennCare, Victor leads the medical office to ensure quality and effective delivery of medical, pharmacy, and dental services to its members. He also leads TennCare’s opioid epidemic strategy, social determinants of health, and practice transformation initiatives across the agency. Prior to joining TennCare, Victor worked at Evolent Health supporting value-based population health care delivery. In 2013, Victor served as a White House Fellow to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Victor completed his Internal Medicine Residency at Emory University still practices clinically as an internist in the Veteran’s Affairs Health System.
Dr. Brandon G. Wilson, DrPH, MHA (he, him, his) joined Community Catalyst as the Director of the Center for Consumer Engagement in Health Innovation, where he leads the Center in bringing the community’s experience to the forefront of health systems transformation and health reform efforts, in order to deliver better care, better value and better health for every community, particularly vulnerable and historically underserved populations. The Center works directly with community advocates around the country to increase the skills and power they have to establish an effective voice at all levels of the health care system. The Center collaborates with innovative health plans, hospitals and providers to incorporate communities and their lived experience into the design of systems of care. The Center also works with state and federal policymakers to spur change that makes the health system more responsive to communities. And it provides consulting services to health plans, provider groups and other health care organizations to help them create meaningful structures for engagement with their communities.
Tamara Ward is the SVP of Insurance Business Operations at Oscar Health, where she leads the National Network Contracting Strategy and Market Expansion & Readiness. Prior to Oscar she served as VP of Managed Care & Network Operations at TriHealth in Southwest Ohio. With over 15 years of progressive health care experience, she has been instrumental driving collaborative payer provider strategies, improving insurance operations, and building high value networks through her various roles with UHC and other large provider health systems. Her breadth and depth of experience and interest-based approach has allowed her to have success solving some of the most complex issues our industry faces today. Tam is passionate about driving change for marginalized communities, developing Oscar’s Culturally Competent Care Program- reducing healthcare disparities and improving access for the underserved population. Tamara holds a B.A. from the University of Cincinnati’s and M.B.A from Miami University.
Dr. Peter Walsh joined the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing as the Chief Medical Officer on December 1, 2020. Prior to joining HCPF, Dr. Walsh served as a Hospital Field Representative/Surveyor at the Joint Commission, headquartered in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois.
