The LAN Welcomes Susan Dentzer to Its Accountable Care Action Collaboration
Susan Dentzer, MS, President and Chief Executive Officer of America’s Physician Groups (APG) joined the Health Care Payment Learning & Action Network’s (HCP-LAN’s or LAN’s) Accountable Care Action Collaboration (ACAC). In this role, she will work with other ACAC members to build on the payment reforms that are transforming U.S. health care and increase collaboration and alignment across key stakeholder groups to achieve truly accountable care.
ACAC members are industry leaders who work with the LAN to influence and advance accountable care. They promote efforts to advance accountable care, coordinate with other LAN initiatives and activities, and foster partnerships to facilitate large-scale application of findings and best practices.
“We are delighted to welcome Susan Dentzer as a new member of the ACAC. She brings positive energy and knowledge to the table. As we head into the fall and prepare for the 2023 LAN Summit, we will call on her expertise as we round out our programs and report on our progress in advancing accountable care,” said ACAC co-chair Leah Binder, president and CEO of the Leapfrog Group.
Dentzer is well suited for the role. As CEO of APG, she leads a national organization representing approximately 360 large physician groups committed to being held accountable for the costs and quality of health care. The 170,000 physicians working for APG member organizations provide care to nearly 90 million patients. APG groups treat more than 30 percent of all enrollees in Medicare Advantage; are among the nation’s leading participants in the Medicare Shared Savings Program; work with Medicaid managed care organizations to serve millions of Medicaid patients; and are also engaged in numerous other alternative payment models, including the Enhancing Oncology Model and the Kidney Care First model.
“I’m excited to join many distinguished colleagues on the ACAC to advance the critically important movement to accountable health care,” Dentzer said. “There is no higher purpose today in U.S. health care than to reshape our flawed system into one that delivers on the promise of greater health, better quality of care, and more affordable costs for patients.”
Dentzer is a health policy thought leader and a frequent speaker and commentator, as well as an author of commentaries and analyses in print publications such as Modern Healthcare, NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine)-Catalyst, and the American Journal of Public Health. She was also the editor and lead author of the book Health Care Without Walls: A Roadmap for Reinventing U.S. Health Care. Dentzer wrote and hosted the 2015 PBS documentary, Reinventing American Healthcare, about the transformative influence of the Geisinger health system.
Dentzer is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine. From 2019 to 2022, she was Senior Policy Fellow for the Robert J. Margolis Center for Health Policy at Duke University where she focused on aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic response; health system transformation including telehealth; biopharmaceutical policy; health coverage expansion, and other key health policy issues. She previously served as senior policy advisor to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; was the Editor-in-Chief of the policy journal Health Affairs; and was the on-air Health Correspondent and head of the Health Policy unit for the PBS NewsHour.
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 alternative payment models (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.
For more information contact Greg Phillips, APG Director of Communications, gphillips@apg.org
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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.
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.
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.
