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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | October 10, 2022 35 ers for 2023 plans. Moran said ConnectiCare's proposed rate increases — which included average hikes of 22.9% and 23.6% for small group plans sold on and off the state's insurance ex- change, respectively — were a result of the Insurance Department previously approving premiums that were significantly below actual claim pay outs, which led to over $65 million in losses in the past year. "The single most significant driver of our proposed rate increase is to restore our rates to an adequate level," Moran said. "Continued inadequate rates will negatively impact our ability to meet our obligations to our policyholders over the long term." The Insurance Department eventually scaled back some of those proposed rate increase requests. Roberta Wachtelhausen is the president of expanding WellSpark Health, a Farmington provider of corporate wellness programs that announced plans in 2021 to grow its headquarters and add 287 jobs over the next seven years. The company's offerings — which focus on several areas, including health coaching and disease prevention, particularly related to chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension — have seen growing demand as employers put an emphasis on keeping their workers healthy. WellSpark is an affiliate of ConnectiCare. LOU GIANQUINTO Lou Gianquinto is among the insurance executives who believe in the value of virtual care — es- pecially coming out of the pandemic, which taught people that some medical visits can be done remotely. In February, Gianquin- to announced that his company — Anthem, the state's largest health plan that covers more than 1 million people in Connecti- cut — would be the latest insurer to begin offering virtual primary care services to eligible commercial members via health app Sydney Health. That app provides access to routine services including new prescriptions and refills, preventive tests, lab work and refer- rals to in-network, in-person primary and specialty care when needed. Gianquinto was named president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Connecticut in November 2020, replacing Jill Hummel, a well-respected insurance executive who spent seven years in the same role. Leading Anthem's Connecticut business represents a homecoming for Gianquinto. He's got strong ties to the state having graduated from Southern Connecticut State University and earned an MBA from the University of New Haven. demic hospital that often operates in the red and is in need of extra state funding to balance its books. Liang has been associated with UConn Health since 2002, when he first joined as a physician-scientist faculty member. Liang oversaw the school's implemen- tation of a new team-based and pa- tient-centered four-year curriculum that aims to better prepare future physicians for the constant changes in health care. During Liang's tenure, UConn was also the first medical school in the nation to elim- inate lectures, while continuing to offer early, hands-on clinical care exposure at the start of medical school along with the integration of basic sciences education. Also, under Liang's leadership, the med- ical school has helped train more than 100 postdoctoral fellows and 100 Ph.D. students. It also has one of the nation's largest Master of Public Health programs, graduating more than 1,000 students with MPH degrees. UConn Health has about a $1.6 billion budget, including $418.9 million in state funding. Prior to joining UConn Health two decades ago, Liang was an associate pro- fessor of medicine and pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine for 13 years. Liang received his bachelor's degree from Harvard University in biochemistry and molecular biology and his medical degree from Harvard Medical College. KAREN MORAN & ROBERTA WACHTELHAUSEN In one of the highest-profile shakeups in Connecticut's healthcare industry over the past year, Karen Moran took over as president of Farm- ington health insurer ConnectiCare after the sudden departure of Eric Galvin. Moran now leads one of the state's largest health plans, which covers almost 80% of individuals purchas- ing insurance through Access Health CT, the state's health insur- ance exchange. Moran also holds the title of senior vice president of commercial business for New York-based parent com- pany, EmblemHealth. In her most high-profile public appearance to date, Moran in August spoke during a public hearing held by the state Insurance Department related to rate increases requested by ConnectiCare and other insur- Karen Moran Roberta Wachtelhausen Lou Gianquinto James Shmerling POWER 25 IN HEALTHCARE He also held several jobs in the Connecti- cut insurance industry at UnitedHealthcare and Oxford Health Plans, where he led initiatives to improve quality, manage costs and increase affordability. Most recently he served as president of Missouri Care, Anthem's Medicaid business in Missouri. As he works to protect Anthem's Con- necticut market share lead, he said one of his top priorities is to advance more value-based contracts with providers that pay doctors and hospitals more based on performance rather than a fee- for-service model. JAMES SHMERLING James Shmerling is leading a transfor- mation of Connecticut Children's medical center. Earlier this year, Shmerling told the Hartford Business Journal the care provider was preparing to undertake the largest-ever expansion of its Hartford campus, as it pre- pares to grow existing services and launch new ones, including an effort to become a national center for fetal care. Connecticut Children's — which began operating in 1996 as the successor to New- ington Children's Hospital — is planning a $280-million expansion anchored by a new 190,000-square-foot, eight-story patient tower on its Washing- ton Street campus. The tower will connect to Connecti- cut Children's main Hartford building and feature an array of services, including 50 private neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) beds, expanded behavioral health and cancer treatment services, and a new comprehensive fetal care center, hospital officials said. The ambitious project will create upwards of 500 new jobs — including temporary construction positions as well as the hiring of about 25 new physicians and more than 130 nurses. It is being driven by increased demand for surgical and other children's care and a lack of available space within the hospital's main campus building, Con- necticut Children's officials said. A centerpiece of the expansion is the new fetal care center. Only a handful exist throughout the U.S., and having one in Hartford will be a boon for the region, Shmerling said. It will allow for early inter- vention of birth defects, including ailments that impact a newborn's heart, nervous system, ear, face or neck. "This will save lives," Shmerling said. 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