Hartford Business Journal

34 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | OCTOBER 16, 2023 POWER 25 | HEALTH CARE ment with the hospitals over a year ago. During the COVID pandemic, Jackson worked with hospital members and state leaders to address the health crisis. She also lobbied to get hospitals and health systems extra state and federal funding, as the pandemic caused many elective proce- dures to be delayed, adversely impacting revenue. Jackson has said the associa- tion will continue to be a strong voice for investments in the healthcare workforce. Jackson earned her nursing degree from the University of Delaware; an MBA from the University of New Haven; and a law degree from the UConn School of Law. Before taking over as CEO, she served as the association's general counsel and vice president. Andrew Mais A s head of the Connecticut Insurance Department, Andrew Mais has the chal- lenging job overseeing one of the state's most important industries, and his agency plays a leading role in determining healthcare costs for consumers and businesses. His office's duties include regulating health insurance rates proposed by insurers, a role that comes with much scrutiny from the industry and general public. Mais' power was on display in early September, when he pared back insurers' average 2024 rate requests for the fully insured small group market (from 12.4% to 9.4%) and individual market (from 14.8% to 7.4%). While the average rate increases approved by the state are lower than what insurers originally requested, they still represent a significant increase in costs to consumers and businesses in the coming year. Mais has acknowledged that fact. "Our dedicated team of actuaries and other professionals has appro- priately reduced the requested health insurance rates increases," Mais said when he announced the rates approved by his office. "However, the ongoing challenge is in addressing the underlying issues that cause these premiums to rise." Those issues, Mais said, include the high costs of prescription drugs and increased demand for medical services. Mais has an extensive private and public sector background. Previ- ously, he was a member of Deloitte's Center for Financial Services, where he served as a subject-matter specialist and resource on insurance regulation. Prior to that, he was a director at the New York State Insurance Department. Lisa Boyle A s a partner and leader of the health law group at law firm Robinson+Cole in Hartford, Lisa Boyle leads one of the largest teams of healthcare attorneys in Connecticut. The practice includes more than a dozen lawyers. Boyle serves as an advisor to healthcare executives for day-to-day counseling and on strategic deals. She has been responsible for many large-scale health system transactions in Connecticut and the Northeast, including two cross-border affiliations, as well as numerous high-profile certificates of need approved by the state Office of Health Strategy. Boyle has also guided the largest independent clinically integrated network in the state since its creation in the 1990s to become a multistate provider network. She has been ranked in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business in the state of Connecticut in the area of health care since 2011, and listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Health Care Law since 2010. She graduated from the Seton Hall University School of Law. Jean-Michel Boers J ean-Michel Boers has been working for pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingel- heim for more than 25 years, and he took over as president and CEO of its U.S. operations in 2020. The company's U.S. headquarters is based in Ridgefield. Prior to his promotion, Boers served as president of Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, the company's largest U.S. subsidiary, a role he took over in 2017. Boers is responsible for the company's U.S. commercial and medical operations, including devel- opment of its drug portfolio and preparing for future launches. Boers originally joined Boehringer Ingelheim in 1998 in Belgium. During his career there, he has had multiple lead- ership roles, including in Germany and France. Boers came to the United States in 2016 as senior vice president of the specialty care franchise, then rose to lead the U.S. human pharmaceutical business in January 2017. In that role, he steered growth and development of the company's portfolio. Boehringer Ingelheim makes medications for both humans and animals. The company, origi- nally founded back in 1885, is an independent and family-owned business. The company has more than 53,000 employees world- wide, including over 13,000 in the Americas. In 2022, Boehringer Ingel- heim recorded net sales of 24.1 billion euros, or $25.4 billion. The company is known for drugs such as Jardiance, an anti-diabetic medication. Lou Gianquinto L ou Gianquinto is among the insurance executives who believe in the value of virtual care — especially coming out of the pandemic, which taught people that some medical visits can be done remotely. In August, Gianquinto announced that his company — Anthem, the state's largest health plan that covers more than 1 million people in Connecticut — would begin offering Anthem Link Virtual First services to eligible members in certain commercial health plans. It gives individuals access to virtual care options, including a symptom checker driven by artificial intelligence, routine wellness care, chronic condition management and behavioral health care. The service, accessed via health app Sydney Health, will be available to eligible members enrolled in Anthem's large group, fully insured and self-funded plans starting Jan. 1, 2024. Gianquinto was named presi- dent of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Connecticut in November 2020. Leading Anthem's Connecticut business represents a homecoming for Gianquinto. He's got strong ties to the state, having graduated from Southern Connecticut State Univer- sity. He earned an MBA from the University of New Haven. He also held several jobs in the Connecticut insurance industry at UnitedHealthcare and Oxford Health Plans. Gary Havican G ary Havican is senior vice president of Hartford HealthCare and serves as its president for the central region, which includes the Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain and MidState Medical Center in Meriden. Havican in recent months has been shep- herding MidState's efforts to build a new $8.4 million, 16-bed adult medical and surgical unit to boost its inpatient space. MidState has submitted a certif- icate of need application with the state Office of Health Strategy to increase its licensed bed capacity. The medical center indicated it needs to expand because of a "significant" increase in patient volume in the past five years, ranging from emergency depart- ment visits to surgeries. A new 16-bed unit would bring MidState's number of licensed beds up from 156 to 172. According to Havican, the project is in response to an increasing number of patients choosing to have their care at MidState, partic- ularly in the areas of oncology, general medicine and surgery. Havican has said adding beds will lead to shorter wait times in the emergency department and more timely access to diagnosis and treatment. MidState wants to have the new unit ready by October 2025. Havican has also been involved in professional and local organiza- tions. He has served as president of The Connecticut Association of Healthcare Executives. He is also on the executive committee for New Britain Recovers, which provides services related to fighting home- lessness and addiction.

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