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CO Health Benefit Exchange - Board

 

Board

The Board of Directors of the Colorado Health Benefit Exchange was appointed in compliance with Senate Bill 11-200. The Board meets about twice a month in open session to discuss and vote on a range of issues related to the establishment and operation of the Exchange. The Board also meets for Study Sessions to delve deeper into the technical aspects of building the Exchange.

For more information about Board meetings, click here.


  • Photograph of Gretchen Hammer, Board Chair

    Gretchen Hammer, Board Chair

    Executive Director, Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved

    Term Expires: 2015

    Gretchen has dedicated her career to improving the health care system. Her role at CCMU allows her to exercise her passion for working with leaders and local communities to identify their shared aspirations for health and to move toward these goals. A skilled facilitator and researcher, she has experience working at the federal, state, municipal, and community level to make change and promote collaboration. Gretchen is a native of Colorado and a graduate of Colorado College, and holds a master’s in public health from the University of Washington.

  • Photograph of Richard Betts, Vice Chair

    Richard Betts, Vice Chair

    Owner, ASAP Accounting & Payroll, Inc.

    Term Expires: 2013

    Richard Betts has dedicated his 40 year business career to small business and entrepreneurship, through positions ranging from Chief Executive Officer to Board Member and Board Chair. Currently he is the CEO of ASAP Accounting and Payroll, Inc., a 20 year old business services company providing accounting as well as operational expertise to hundreds of companies in Western Colorado.

    Prior business endeavors included being the CEO of a Texas based homebuilding company that was started from scratch and eventually sold to a financial institution. Richard has provided venture capital funding and Board oversight to companies in the mortgage banking and manufacturing businesses that were eventually sold to larger national firms.

    A full-time Colorado resident for 27 years, Richard has also been actively engaged in stewardship of his community. Richard’s non-profit accomplishments include the Telluride Foundation, serving as Chairman of the Investment and Finance Committee, Treasurer, and Chair of the Audit Committee. This Community Foundation donates over $1 million a year to non profits. He also served as Chairman of the Telluride Medical Foundation that serves the capital needs of the Telluride Medical Center. Richard was chair of the restoration committee of the Telluride Museum that restored the 1893 Miners’ Hospital and in the process was given the Colorado Historical Society’s Stephen H. Hart award for restoration excellence.

    Richard can be reached through the offices of ASAP Accounting and Payroll, Inc. in Telluride, Durango, and Denver.

  • Photograph of Eric Grossman

    Eric Grossman

    Vice President of Strategy & Government Affairs, TriZetto

    Term Expires: 2013

    Eric Grossman has spent his entire career in healthcare technology, holding leadership roles in strategy, sales, product management and corporate business development activities. Currently, he leads various business units including Voice of the Customer and Government Affairs. Before joining TriZetto, Grossman was CEO of North Star Health, a compliance-based health plan pioneering the use of prevention and wellness in order to reduce large employers’ medical costs. He is the founder and former CEO of Connecture, the leading sales automation vendor for health plans, and worked as chief of staff for the vice chairman of Ernst & Young LLP. Grossman earned his B.B.A. and M.B.A. from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

  • Photograph of Robert Ruiz-Moss

    Robert Ruiz-Moss

    Segment Lead, Anthem, Blue Cross and Blue Shield

    Term Expires: 2013

    Robert Ruiz-Moss has nearly 20 years experience in numerous facets of the healthcare market. Rob is currently the general manager for Anthem’s individual health insurance business in Colorado, Nevada, Connecticut and New Hampshire. Anthem is the largest individual insurer in Colorado, and the four states have more than 200,000 combined members. In his role, Rob has indentified and negotiated strategic carrier partnerships to expand current major medical health insurance offerings to include new ancillary and specialty products to meet consumer demands and also led his states through the successful filing and implementation of new, PPACA-compliant products and rates on time and in budget. In addition, Rob is involved in strategic planning for the individual business market throughout parent company WellPoint’s 14 state plans.

    Among his significant previous positions, Rob served as chief executive officer of Imerica Life and Health Insurance Company, offering HSA-qualified insurance plans, health savings bank accounts and PPO plans. As CEO he provided leadership and vision for the 80-member organization and grew revenue from $1.5 million to $40 million within 18 months. He was president and chief executive officer of Mountain Medical Affiliates, a physician-owned PPO providing health care services to more than 80,000 Coloradans utilizing more than 10,000 provider contracts.

    Rob also has entrepreneurial experience, having founded ChoiceNet/InterCare (CNIC), a Third Party Administrator that became Colorado’s largest TPA. CNIC grew from 10 employees to more than 300 when it was sold to Rocky Mountain Health Plans.

    Rob holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Colorado at Boulder and has served on the boards of the Colorado Health Foundation, HealthOne Hospital System, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Denver metro American Heart Association.

  • Photograph of Beth Soberg

    Beth Soberg

    President and CEO, United Healthcare

    Term Expires: 2013

    Elizabeth Soberg is Chief Executive Officer of UnitedHealthcare of Colorado. Beth brings more than 20 years of industry experience, including 13 years with UnitedHealth Group, to this significant leadership role. Beth is responsible for the health plan’s business development, operations, community and regulatory relationships. She directs the development of near and long-term strategic plans, staff development and the implementation of tactical initiatives that drive business and company objectives for Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and New Mexico Markets.

    During her tenure with UnitedHealth Group, Beth has served in several key leadership roles within Uniprise, Specialized Care Services and UnitedHealthcare. Beth played a key role in the development of the UnitedHealthcare product portfolio in the Northwest and was responsible for launching the ancillary suite of products nationwide through the UnitedHealthcare distribution model. Most recently, she served as Regional Vice President of key accounts for the Southwest Region where she was successful in driving key strategic growth initiatives with the region’s market leaders and was a key player in the integration of legacy-PacifiCare.

    Beth is an active board member with the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce (DMCC), Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee, Mile High United Way (MHUW)/Colorado Chapter, Center for Improving Value in Health Care (CIVHC), Colorado Associations of Health Plans (CAHP), Mental Health America of Colorado (MHAC), Executive Advisory Board/University of Colorado Denver and is a member of the Colorado Concern, Colorado Forum and CACI and most recently appointed to the Colorado Health Benefit Exchange Board of Directors (CHIEX) for the State of Colorado.

    Beth graduated from the University of Alaska, Anchorage.

  • Photograph of Steve ErkenBrack

    Steve ErkenBrack

    President, Rocky Mountain Health Plans

    Term Expires: 2015

    Steve ErkenBrack currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Rocky Mountain Health Plans, a non-profit carrier based in Grand Junction, Colorado. Prior to this position, he served as Vice President of Legal and Government Affairs for the organization from 2002 to 2008.

    For more than 25 years, Mr. ErkenBrack worked as an attorney with an emphasis on litigation, government affairs, and health care. He maintained a private practice with offices in Grand Junction and Denver. Mr. ErkenBrack served six years as Mesa County’s elected District Attorney and four years as Colorado’s Chief Deputy Attorney General.

    His significant legal and health care acumen has been recognized on a regional, statewide, and national basis. The Colorado legislature appointed Mr. ErkenBrack as the only health plan representative to serve on Colorado’s Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform. Mr. ErkenBrack currently is Chair of Club 20’s Health Care Committee, and is a founding member of the Mesa County Health Leadership Consortium. In the past has served as Chair of the Board of Law Examiners for the Colorado Supreme Court, President of the Colorado District Attorneys Council, and as a member of the Board of Governors of the Colorado Bar Association. He is admitted to practice before all courts in Colorado and the United States Supreme Court.

    Mr. ErkenBrack received his undergraduate education at the United States Naval Academy and Washington & Lee University, and his law degree from the University of Colorado.

  • Photograph of Arnold Salazar, Secretary

    Arnold Salazar, Secretary

    Executive Director, Colorado Health Partnerships, LLC

    Term Expires: 2015

    Arnold has had a long and extensive career in Colorado in the field of community mental health, which began in Alamosa at the San Luis Valley Mental Health Center. After completing a graduate degree at the University of Michigan, Arnold directed the center for 10 years prior to organizing SyCare LLC, a managed care company offering mental health services. In 2005 he took that idea one step further when he became CEO of Colorado Health Partnerships.

    Colorado Health Partnerships includes 8 non-profit community mental health center providers, and ValueOptions a for-profit management services provider covering 43 mostly rural counties in Colorado. Colorado Health Partnerships contracts with the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, the state agency for the Medicaid mental health risk based contract. As CEO, Arnold’s primarily responsibility is coordinating the activities of the partnership with the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.

  • Photograph of Nathan Wilkes

    Nathan Wilkes

    Founder and Principal Consultant, Headstorms, Inc.

    Term Expires: 2015

    Nathan is a small business owner in the field of information technology as well as a long-time advocate for health care reform.

    After graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Electrical Engineering, Nathan immediately began a career in network and security engineering on the east coast. He traveled to Denver in 1998 as part of an elite team that would design and implement Qwest's initial global data network and enhanced service platform. In 2000, he joined others on the ground floor of building a global managed network and information security company. Responsibilities as principal architect included network design, systems integration, vendor evaluation & testing, user interface and web portal development, and more.

    Personal family crisis that came in 2003 with the birth of his son, who had an expensive chronic illness, plunged Nathan and his wife into the world of health care reform. Despite having excellent coverage at the time, changes resulting from the cost of his son's care included reduced benefits, increased deductibles and out-of-pocket costs, and a $1 million lifetime cap. Personal advocacy soon became community advocacy, as Nathan and his wife also began speaking out and helping others in similar situations.

    In 2006, Nathan began researching the entire realm of small group health insurance coverage as a means to cover and protect his family. Then, in 2008, with the re-introduction of modified community rating in Colorado, Nathan started his own small consulting business and began purchasing health insurance in the small group market.

    In addition to his professional career and advocacy efforts, Nathan has held many leadership roles in nonprofit & volunteer organizations since the early age of 15, when he first received extensive training in parliamentary procedure and board governance. Most recently, Nathan has served as a Past President of the Hemophilia Society of Colorado and Vice President of Health Care for All Colorado Foundation. In addition, Nathan was a member of the Business Task Force to the 208 Commission and is currently on the All Payer Claims Database Advisory Committee.

  • Photograph of Mike Fallon

    Mike Fallon

    MD

    Term Expires: 2015

    Michael Fallon attended the University of Texas at Austin, earning his Chemical Engineering Degree in 1986. He then attended The University of Texas at Houston, receiving his Doctorate in Medicine. Mike served his internship at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, followed by residency at the Denver Health Affiliated Residency in Emergency Medicine.

    Dr. Fallon started his professional career in Atlanta, Georgia, where he worked for four years. There he was honored to serve as the Medical Director for the Swimming Venue at the Olympic Games. Returning to Denver in 1998, he worked in private practice before founding an urgent care company where he developed expertise in small business practice. He sold the practice in 2007 and stayed on as the medical director until 2009. In 2010, he ran for congress in Colorado's first congressional district, while returning to practice emergency medicine part time. Mike is married to Sandy and has two children, Emma and Sam.

  • Ex-Officio (non-voting members)

  • Photograph of Susan Birch, RN, MBA

    Susan Birch, RN, MBA

    Executive Director, Colorado Department of Healthcare Policy and Financing

    Sue Birch was appointed the executive director of the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing by Governor Hickenlooper in January 2011. As a member of the governor’s cabinet, Sue directs the Department’s efforts to improve the health of Medicaid and CHP+ clients, increase access to care and contain costs.

    Sue was previously the Chief Executive Officer of Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. She was instrumental in expanding programs, developing strategic partnerships and strengthening operations. The agency moved into a nurse- led model of integrated community health services including primary care, home and hospice care, public health and aging services.

    Prior to moving to Northwest Colorado, Sue served at Georgetown University Hospital and in a variety of progressive nursing roles with Kaiser Permanente in Colorado. She is a trustee of the Caring for Colorado Foundation and a past-president of the Home Care Association of Colorado. She recently completed an appointment to the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Livingston Fellowship and the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellowship.

  • Photograph of Ken Lund

    Ken Lund

    Executive Director, Office of Economic Development and International Trade, State of Colorado

    Ken Lund currently serves as the Executive Director for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade. In this capacity Ken oversees the State’s initiatives and programs in business recruitment and retention, small business advocacy and assistance, business finance/business lending efforts, and supports the state’s tourism marketing and outreach initiatives through the Colorado Tourism Office. These roles are essential in the ongoing outreach and coordination of economic initiatives across the State, ensuring that the State’s goals for economic prosperity and sustainability are achieved in an intelligent and synchronized fashion, founded on the principals of broad consensus and collaboration across the various communities in Colorado.

    Prior to taking the role of executive director, Ken was hired by Governor Hickenlooper to be his Chief Legal Counsel.

    He was previously the firmwide Managing Partner of Holme Roberts & Owen in Denver and responsible for the articulation, development and implementation of the law firm’s client service and engagement strategy. Under Lund’s leadership, ColoradoBiz magazine named Holme Roberts & Owen the 2009 Top Colorado Company in the legal category for sustained financial excellence, community involvement and operational excellence.

    During Lund's 11 years as Managing Partner at Holme Roberts & Owen, he took a lead role in building and supporting the firm's growth, including opening new offices in Munich, Dublin, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix. He also spearheaded development of the law firm's integrated marketing and brand campaign, "Experience Listens. Be Heard."

    Ken is active in the community and previously served as a board member for the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation, the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. and the Mile High Chapter of the American Red Cross. He also was a board member and executive committee member for the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce Denver. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Metro Denver Sports Commission.

    He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona and a juris doctorate from the University of Denver. Ken and his wife Andrea have two children.

  • Photograph of Jim Riesberg

    Jim Riesberg

    Commissioner of Insurance, Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies

    From 2005-2011, Jim served as Colorado State Representative for House District 50 in Greeley, Garden City and Evans, serving seven years on the Health and Human Services Committee (two years as chair), the Appropriations Committee and six years on the Capital Development Committee (two years as chair).

    Prior to serving in the Legislature, Jim spent 16 years in leadership roles with non-profit organizations specializing in aging, hunger and housing issues; worked for 24 years in retail, adult training and sales and marketing positions for local, regional and national companies; and taught junior high school for five years.

    While in the State Legislature, Jim received many awards for his service in the community. Most recently, he received the 2011 "Legislator of the Year" award from the Colorado Cross Disability Coalition. Other awards include the 2010 Mental Health Services Award from the Colorado Counseling Association; the "Defender of the Patient" award from the Colorado Medical Society and Weld County Medical Society; the "Outstanding Achievement" award from the Colorado Alzheimer's Association; and "Legislator of the Year" award, from the Colorado Bioscience Association.

    Commissioner Riesberg is a Colorado native who has lived in Greeley for over 30 years. He received an MA in Gerontology and a BA in History and Economics from the University of Colorado. He also earned a GRI certificate in real estate. Jim and his wife, Sharron, have been married 47 years and have two children and five grandchildren.

Upcoming COHBE Board Meeting

May 14, 2012
8:30 am to noon

COPIC Mile High Room
7351 East Lowry Blvd.
Denver CO 80230