About Healthfirst NJ

Executive Profiles

• Pat Wang - President & Chief Executive Officer
• Daniel McCarthy - Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
• Michael Honig - Sr. Vice President, Business Development and Analysis
• Terence L. Byrd - President, Healthfirst NJ
• Elizabeth St. Clair, Esq. - Senior Vice President & General Counsel
• Marybeth Tita - Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
• John Cheng - Chief Marketing & Communications Officer
• Arun Bhatia - Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer
• Deborah Hammond, MD - Vice President, Medical Director, New Jersey
• Sonya L. Henderson - Vice President, Compliance and Audit & Corporate Compliance Officer
• Andrea Forino - Senior Vice President, Human Resources
• Jessica Gamzon - Director, NJ Network Management
• Anna Enriquez - Director, Medicaid Outreach & Marketing
• Grace Santos - Director, Medicare Sales
• John J. Kirchner - Director, Operations

Pat Wang - President & Chief Executive Officer

Pat Wang joined Healthfirst as President and CEO in 2008. Sponsored by a number of not-for-profit and public hospitals in the metropolitan New York region, Healthfirst has more than 600,000 members enrolled in a variety of health insurance products, including Medicaid, Family Health Plus, and Child Health Plus, as well as Medicare Advantage. Healthfirst also manages the long term care benefits of frail elderly individuals through its subsidiary, Senior Health Partners. Healthfirst strives to assure the availability of culturally and linguistically competent health care to diverse communities, as well as to improve health insurance coverage and quality of care.  

Ms. Wang practiced health law at Kalkines, Arky, Zall and Bernstein, where she represented health care providers serving low income patients.  She then worked for the Greater New York Hospital Association, a hospital and continuing care provider trade association, where she was a Senior Vice President with responsibilities for analysis, operations, advocacy, and policy related to managed care, uncompensated care, and health care financing. One of her earliest accomplishments at GNYHA was the creation of Healthfirst, which became a freestanding company in 1993.  

Ms. Wang is a graduate of Princeton University, where she majored in history and East Asian studies, and New York University School of Law, where she received her J.D. degree, cum laude.  She has lived in Taiwan, Beijing, and Yugoslavia.

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Daniel McCarthy - Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

Mr. McCarthy joined Healthfirst in April 2008 bringing almost 20 years of experience in healthcare with expertise in product development, operations and business strategy. Mr. McCarthy served most recently as President of Metcare Health Plans, Inc., a Medicare Advantage plan in Florida, and a client of Healthfirst's management services organization. For the thirteen years prior to joining Metcare, Mr. McCarthy was an executive with Empire BlueCross BlueShield of New York where during the course of his tenure he was responsible for Network Contracting and Management, Senior Market Products, Individual Products, the New Jersey market, Medical Economics, Group Underwriting, as well as other areas of responsibility.

Mr. McCarthy holds a B.A. from Fordham University and an M.B.A. in Finance and Management from New York University.

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Michael Honig - Sr. Vice President, Business Development and Analysis

Michael Honig has worked in managed care for over 30 years. He joined Healthfirst in September of 1999. Michael Honig is currently responsible for the analysis of health care performance, product pricing and evaluation of new business opportunities. His earlier experience includes serving as President of Fairfield Health Plan (FHP) in 1977 and President of American Health Management and Consulting Corporation (AHMAC) in 1991.

At AHMAC, Michael specialized in the development of provider sponsored health plans. He is directly responsible for the development of more than a dozen managed care plans in the tri-state area including: Health Partners of Philadelphia, Mercy Health Plan of Pennsylvania, Yale Preferred Health in Connecticut and, under the auspices of the Greater New York Hospital Association, the creation of Healthfirst.

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Terence L. Byrd - President, Healthfirst NJ

Terence L. Byrd joined Healthfirst NJ in August 2009, with over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry. He has extensive experience in the New Jersey healthcare market with organizations that serve low-income populations. As the executive responsible for profit and loss for all the Healthfirst NJ lines of business, Mr. Byrd will oversee provider relations, sales functions, financial operations, and regulatory compliance for the organization.

Prior to joining Healthfirst NJ, Mr. Byrd held positions at QMedCare of NJ, AmeriChoice, Combined Insurance and Mercy Health Plan of NJ. While at QMedCare, he developed the first Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plan to be approved in New Jersey by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Additionally, Mr. Byrd founded TLB Byrd & Associates, a healthcare consulting firm specializing in all components of health insurance operations.

Mr. Byrd has a BA in Economics from Lafayette College, as well as a New Jersey license for Life, Accident, and Health Insurance. In addition, he has participated in Monmouth University's MBA program.

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Elizabeth St. Clair, Esq. - Senior Vice President & General Counsel

Ms. St. Clair joined Healthfirst in May 2008 with extensive healthcare experience. Prior to joining Healthfirst, Ms. St. Clair served as General Counsel at Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers in New York City, a not-for-profit health care system comprised of eight hospitals, four nursing homes, three home care agencies, and more than 60 ambulatory care sites. She was responsible for legal affairs, corporate compliance, governance, insurance, and risk and claims management. During her tenure as General Counsel, SVCMC went through a successful bankruptcy reorganization, including several hospital divestitures and debt refinancing.

Prior to joining Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers, Ms. St. Clair served as general counsel at New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation where she developed the corporation's first compliance program. She also held positions as Division Chief of the New York City Law Department's Office of the Corporation Counsel from 1992 - 1997, and as partner at Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Kieberman, P.C. from 1988 - 1992.

Ms. St. Clair holds a J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Washington.

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Marybeth Tita - Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Marybeth Tita has more than 14 years of experience in accounting and financial reporting for the health insurance industry. She joined Healthfirst in 2007 with responsibility for managing the Corporate Finance Department. Her responsibilities include overseeing maintenance of the company's books and records, processing payments, billing and collections, budgeting and forecasting, treasury management and financial reporting. Ms. Tita is a financial executive with a strong managed care background whose accomplishments demonstrate success in evaluating operations, implementing innovative solutions, and improving internal controls.

Ms. Tita began her career as an accountant at Touche Ross, where she led audits of clients in various industries, including insurance and healthcare. Before joining Healthfirst, she spent time working for other New York insurers and managed care companies where she led change, enhanced controls and implemented systems which led to the improved safeguarding of corporate assets and more transparent financial reporting.

Ms. Tita is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Internal Auditor. She obtained her BS in Accounting from St. John's University and her MBA in Finance and Management from Columbia University, Graduate School of Business.

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John Cheng - Chief Marketing & Communications Officer

John Cheng is a marketing and business development executive with over 10 years of healthcare industry experience, specializing in electronic media. He joined Healthfirst in April 2010 with responsibility for developing new and innovative marketing strategies and effectively maximizing Healthfirst’s brand.

Prior to joining Healthfirst, Mr. Cheng served as the Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Communications at Aetna Health Care. His earlier experience includes positions with Oxford Health Plans, CIGNA HealthCare, GE Capital, AT&T Corporation and more. Mr. Cheng has held senior roles in Strategic Marketing, Business Development and Strategic Planning, and obtained a Six Sigma Green Belt focused on the development of new products.

Mr. Cheng oversees the Marketing and Communications, Corporate Communications and Product Management Departments at Healthfirst. He has an MBA from Pace University and received his Bachelors Degree from Brooklyn College.

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Arun Bhatia - Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer

Mr. Bhatia joined Healthfirst in August 2011, bringing more than 20 years of Information Technology experience. As Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer, Mr. Bhatia oversees all aspects of Healthfirst’s Information Services responsibilities and enables the company to continue to develop a world-class IS organization.  

Prior to joining Healthfirst, Mr. Bhatia served most recently as Senior Vice President, Information Services at MagnaCare, a health plan management company, where he was responsible for directing all information technology and data integrity functions for  the enterprise. Prior to MagnaCare, Mr. Bhatia worked as Senior Client Partner at Tanning Technology, a leading Technology and Management Consulting organization, where he developed, deployed, and optimized IT systems that reduced cost, improved performance, and drove competitive advantage for leading companies worldwide. His clients included Oxford Health Plan, McKesson, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Qwest Communications, and Hartford Insurance.

Mr. Bhatia received a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Delhi Institute of Technology.

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Deborah Hammond, MD - Vice President, Medical Director, New Jersey

Deborah Hammond, M.D. joined Healthfirst New Jersey in September, 2008. Since that time, she has been responsible for providing on-site review of 100% of cases referred by care managers; performing all utilization management for NJ with coverage of the New York plan for utilization reviews; representing Healthfirst at State regulatory meetings; interfacing with New Jersey Provider Relations; becoming involved in HEDIS activities in New Jersey; chairing New Jersey Quality and Credentialing Committees; and formulating and making presentations on performance to owner hospitals.

Dr. Hammond has substantial experience in health plan operations and the clinical management of health services. Prior to joining Healthfirst, she served as Vice President, National Standards at UnitedHealthcare. Having received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Oklahoma, with a specialty in Internal Medicine, she is Board Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

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Sonya L. Henderson - Vice President, Compliance and Audit & Corporate Compliance Officer

Sonya L. Henderson joined Healthfirst in September 2009 with over 20 years of operations and corporate compliance experience in the healthcare arena. Ms. Henderson has a strong background and extensive knowledge in negotiation and conflict resolution.

Ms. Henderson will build on Healthfirst’s existing comprehensive compliance program and will continue to promote a culture of compliance and ethical behavior throughout the organization. She will ensure that employees have a complete understanding of the importance of compliance and how compliance relates to their everyday tasks. Ms. Henderson also oversees the audit team, which performs both compliance audits and internal audits of Healthfirst processes to ensure compliance with outside regulatory requirements and that our internal processes adequately protect the organization against business risk. She oversees the Compliance program and audit activities within Healthfirst, and provides ongoing updates to the Audit and Compliance Committee of the Board of Directors.

Prior to joining Healthfirst, Ms. Henderson held positions at AmeriChoice, HorizonNJHealth, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ. During her time at both Horizon NJ Health and AmeriChoice, Ms. Henderson served as the organization's Compliance Officer. Ms. Henderson holds a BA in Communications from The University of Pittsburgh.

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Andrea Forino - Senior Vice President, Human Resources

Andrea Forino has over 14 years experience in human resources. She joined Healthfirst in 2002, and is currently responsible for overseeing human resources and training for Healthfirst and its employees.

Prior to joining Healthfirst, Andrea’s experience included: heading the human resources functions for companies in different industries including healthcare marketing and communications and engineering. In addition, she has over 4 years experience consulting on improving employee performance and productivity.

Andrea is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and previously served on the Board of Directors for Body Positive, Inc.

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Jessica Gamzon - Director, NJ Network Management

Jessica Gamzon has more than 14 years of experience in the health insurance industry. Since joining Healthfirst New Jersey in 2009, Ms. Gamzon has contracted and credentialed major physician networks, collaborated with her team to create key provider materials, and is currently leading our FamilyCare network expansion throughout the State of New Jersey.

Prior to joining Healthfirst NJ, Ms. Gamzon held various positions with United Health Group, Americhoice, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, University Hospital of Brooklyn, and Managed Healthcare Systems of New York, Inc. including Regional Vice President, Provider Relations & Contracting and National Vice President, Provider Relationship Management and Member Retention. During her time at AmeriChoice, Ms. Gamzon served on the AmeriChoice of Connecticut Implementation Team where she helped to launch the health plan in the Connecticut marketplace. Ms. Gamzon’s areas of expertise include managed care operations, provider relations and contracting, customer-centric service, and multicultural marketing.    

Ms. Gamzon has a MA in Health Administration from Hofstra University, a BA in Psychology from Binghamton University, State University of New York, and has extensive Six Sigma Training.

 

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Anna Enriquez - Director, Medicaid Outreach & Marketing

Anna Enriquez joined Healthfirst New Jersey in 2008, with over 25 years of experience in managed care.  Ms. Enriquez’s responsibilities include community outreach, where she has been instrumental in the Healthfirst “Reach Out and Read,” program, which donates books to healthcare facilities to promote youth literacy.

Prior to joining Healthfirst NJ, Ms. Enriquez was the Director of Marketing, Business Development, and Fundraising at the Plainfield Neighborhood Health Services Corporation.  There she was responsible for all external communications, including events, advertising, marketing and fundraising.  

Ms. Enriquez has a BS in Business and Marketing from Rochville University, as well as a State of NJ Health Insurance Producer’s License and a NY State Health Insurance Producer’s License.

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Grace Santos - Director, Medicare Sales

Grace Santos has over nine years of Medicare Sales experience. Since joining Healthfirst NJ in 2008, Ms. Santos has been responsible for developing, monitoring and coaching all Healthfirst NJ Medicare Sales Managers. In addition, she has been actively involved in our Medicare outreach campaigns throughout the Garden State.

Prior to joining Healthfirst NJ, Ms. Santos was the Regional Sales Manager at Touchstone Health Partnership where she was responsible for sales and marketing operations in the Bronx and Staten Island. These responsibilities included the recruitment and retention of sales staff, as well as the creation and implementation of strategic sales plans.

Ms. Santos has a BA in Biology from Rutgers University and a New Jersey Life and Health Insurance License.

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John J. Kirchner - Director, Operations

John Kirchner joined Healthfirst in May 2010 with over 25 years experience in health care management.  Mr. Kirchner’s background includes responsibility for health plan P&L, strategic planning and operations, and government and regulatory affairs.  Mr. Kirchner will be responsible for supporting all aspects of NJ health plan operations.

Prior to joining Healthfirst, Mr. Kirchner held a variety of positions at AmeriChoice of New Jersey serving as President from 2007 through 2009.  Mr. Kirchner also held Government Relations positions for Home Life Financial Assurance Corporation and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey and served as Legislative Liaison for the New Jersey State Department of Health.  Prior to beginning his career in health care, Mr. Kirchner served on the staff of US Senator Bill Bradley.

Mr. Kirchner received his BS Degree in Business Management from Stonehill College, Northeaston, MA.   

 

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