Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | NOVEMBER 17, 2025 25 POWE R 25 | HE ALTH CARE FORMA Therapeutics, a public company that was acquired in 2022 by Novo Nordisk for $1.1 billion. She has a bachelor's degree in bio- chemistry from the University of Maryland, College Park, and earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Yale University. financial help for Connecticut residents. At the same time, the state's small- group health insurance market has eroded. Since 2022, carriers including ConnectiCare, Aetna, Cigna/Oscar Health and Harvard Pilgrim have exited the fully insured small-group business, leaving only Anthem and UnitedHealth- care in the market. To help fill the void, Access Health this summer launched a new product, Access Health BusinessPlus, that offers small employers Individual Cov- erage Health Reimbursement Arrange- ments, or ICHRAs, as an alternative. The program allows businesses to con- tribute pretax dollars toward employee premiums, with workers choosing from 22 individual market plans. Michel, who became CEO in 2018 after serving in finance and operations roles at Access Health, has guided the exchange through major enrollment and policy shifts. A U.S. Army Reserve veteran, he holds an MBA from the Uni- versity of Hartford's Barney School of Business and a bachelor's in account- ing from Brooklyn College. individual and group markets, includ- ing both self-insured and fully insured employers. Gianquinto this year announced two new multiyear agreements with major health systems. The most recent, with Yale New Haven Health, renewed An- them's contract with the state's largest hospital network, ensuring members retain in-network access to its hospitals, facilities and medical providers. The agreement emphasizes reduc- ing hospital readmissions through data-driven care coordination, evi- dence-based treatment and stronger patient follow-up. It also promotes the use of urgent care centers as a more cost-effective alternative to emergency departments for minor or non-acute conditions. The other agreement, reached earlier this year, kept Stamford Hospital and its affiliated facilities in Anthem's network. The deal followed several months of uncertainty after the previous contract expired at the end of 2024. In recent years, Gianquinto and his team have been involved in difficult contract negotiations with hospitals and physician groups, reflecting industry- wide pressure to slow the growth of healthcare costs. Anthem was recently approved for an average 13.6% rate increase in 2026 on individual health plans covering about 83,790 people, with hikes ranging from 6.1% to 22.5%. It also received an average 11.2% increase for small-group plans covering roughly 48,600 residents. The company has continued to expand its community footprint through partnerships, including a multiyear sponsorship agreement with the WNBA's Connecticut Sun. Gianquinto, a Connecticut native, earned a bachelor's degree from South- ern Connecticut State University and an MBA from the University of New Haven. His earlier career included positions at UnitedHealthcare, Oxford Health Plans and Missouri Care. JENNIFER JACKSON J ennifer Jackson has led the Connecticut Hospital Associa- tion as chief executive officer since 2000. The CHA serves as an advocate for the state's hospitals and healthcare systems. The association notes that, according to data from the most recently audited fiscal year, 2023, the state's hospitals and health systems generate $41.1 billion for the state's economy and employ more than 120,817 people. Still, like those nationwide, hospitals in Connecticut continue to face difficult financial challenges. As noted in a report from the association, hospitals and health systems in the state continue to face "extraordinary financial pressures, exceeding national and regional challenges as healthcare providers across the country work to recover from the lasting effects of the global pandemic and years of historic inflation." That financial hardship is, in part, the result of being under-reimbursed by Medi- care and Medicaid, the CHA says. Under Jackson's leadership, the CHA submitted testimony more than 100 times during the 2025 session of the state Gener- al Assembly. According to data from the Office of State Ethics, the CHA spent nearly $1.6 million, the most of any organization, to lobby the state legislature in 2025. Before taking over as CEO, she had served as the association's general counsel and vice president. Jackson, who joined the CHA in 1988, earned a nursing degree from the Universi- ty of Delaware; an MBA from the University of New Haven; and a law degree from the UConn School of Law. KAYSER-BRICKER Continued from page 23 DR. REID WALDMAN D ermatologist-turned-entre- preneur Dr. Reid Waldman is leading one of Connecti- cut's most closely watched biopharmaceutical startups. As co-founder and CEO of New Hav- en-based Veradermics Inc., Waldman has built a fast-growing company developing new treatments for skin conditions. In Oc- tober 2025, Veradermics closed an over- subscribed $150 million Series C funding round led by SR One, with participation from several new and existing investors. The latest fundraise more than doubles the company's total funding since its 2019 founding by Waldman and fellow der- matologist Dr. Tim Durso. Proceeds will support ongoing trials for VDPHL01, an in- vestigational oral therapy for androgenet- ic alopecia — or pattern hair loss — which affects nearly 80 million Americans. Veradermics recently reported positive preliminary results from its Phase 2 study and plans to advance to pivotal Phase 3 trials. Waldman, a board-certified dermatolo- gist with more than a decade of clinical experience, has authored over 100 publi- cations, including the textbook "Dermatol- ogy for the Primary Care Provider." LOU GIANQUINTO L ou Gianquinto, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut since 2020, oversees the state's largest health plan, which covers around 1 million residents. The insurer serves customers across JAMES MICHEL J ames Michel leads Access Health CT, the state's health insurance marketplace, at a time of mounting pressure on both indi- vidual and small-business coverage. In July 2025, Access Health estimated that provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and other federal changes could cause up to 35% of its more than 150,000 customers to lose marketplace coverage by 2034, citing subsidy expirations and new eligibility rules. Michel warned that the changes could raise costs and create new barriers to R. KYLE KRAMER F rom his perch leading "the hospital on the hill" in Putnam, R. Kyle Kramer has been steering Day Kimball Health through the financial and oper- ational headwinds facing small, independent hospitals. CEO since 2020, Kramer has said the system's long-term survival likely depends on finding the right partner — a prospect that gained momentum this year as UConn Health entered high-level discussions to acquire or affiliate with Day Kimball. Kramer understands the pressures of running a 104-bed community hospital in rural northeastern Connecticut. He has overseen targeted investments in cardiology, digestive health, orthope- dics and stroke care, while maintaining essential services such as the region's only birthing center. Despite millions in state and federal aid, Day Kimball has reported operating losses in recent years. Kramer has responded with a pension restructur- ing, the sale of its home care division, and the pursuit of grants to modernize imaging and telehealth systems. Prior to joining Day Kimball, Kramer was a principal with Pinnacle Health- care Consulting and held executive leadership roles at Main Line Health in Philadelphia and Yale New Haven Health, among other places. SUSAN HALPIN T he healthcare and health insurance industries make up a powerful special interest group at the state Capitol. In fact, so far during the 2025-26 reporting period, six of the top 13 lobbying organizations are health care or health Continued on next page

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