Archive for: Annual Conference

Anthony Keck is the Executive Vice President for System Innovation and Chief Population Health Officer at Ballad Health. He is the former senior vice president and chief development officer for Mountain States Health Alliance. In his current role, he is responsible for strategy and value based services, information technology, marketing and communications, government affairs, the Ballad Health Foundation, and the system’s new department of community health programs.
Before joining Mountain States, Keck served as the director of Health and Human Services for South Carolina during the first term of Governor Nikki R. Haley and also served three years in the administration of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. Prior to his government service, he worked for organizations such as Johnson & Johnson, Ochsner Clinic New Orleans, and St. Thomas Health Services, a community clinic also located in New Orleans.

Nitika directs the state’s Health Workforce Analysis program that collects and analyzes healthcare workforce data at the Office of Rural Health and Primary Care within the Minnesota Department of Health. The program serves as a resource for regulators, policy makers, educators, employers and researchers to better understand healthcare workforce access, distribution and pipeline challenges to inform related policies. Prior to her current position, Nitika worked in health services research and has experience in rulemaking. In 2017, she was awarded the Women in Public Service Rising Star Award by Hamline University in Minnesota. Nitika has a master’s in public policy from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, and bachelors in Sociology from the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Marie Zimmerman State Medicaid Director has devoted over a decade to public-sector health care in Minnesota, spearheading critical reforms and innovations that have been watched and emulated nationally. Appointed Minnesota’s Medicaid director in 2014, Marie oversees the strategic policy direction and the core business functions of Medicaid and the Basic Health Program (BHP), called MinnesotaCare. The combined budgets of Medicaid and MinnesotaCare topped $11.5 billion in 2016 and provide health coverage to 1 in 5 Minnesotans, delivering health care, behavioral health services and long-term services and supports to more than one million people.
During Marie’s tenure, the state has saved over $1.5 billion through managed care reform and purchasing innovations. Savings include $213 million related to improved health outcomes for Medicaid enrollees through an accountable care model called Integrated Health Partnerships; a collaborative, patient-focused approach to delivering care while lowering cost. In addition, Marie has managed a successful Basic Health Program that provides affordable and comprehensive coverage for lower-income Minnesotans who do not qualify for Medicaid. Prior to her service as Medicaid director, Marie acted as health care policy director for the Minnesota Department of Human Services, where she led early efforts to reform health care purchasing for Medicaid, moving the state toward a pay-for-value model.
Marie is a recipient of the Women in Health Care Leadership Award from Women’s Health Leadership TRUST. She serves on the boards of the National Academy for State Health Policy and the National Association of Medicaid Directors.
Marie lives in Minneapolis with her family. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.

Ms. Kidder is the Deputy Secretary for Medicaid at Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration. She has served in state Medicaid programs for twenty years and has led Florida’s Medicaid program since 2017. Florida Medicaid provides health and long-term care services to almost four million low income Floridians primarily through a managed care delivery system. Her expertise is in managed care, long-term care services, coverage policies, and quality improvement. Ms. Kidder holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and a Master of Public Policy from Duke University.

Michelle Herman Soper, MHS, is director of integrated care at the Center for Health Care Strategies. She leads CHCS’ work focused on improving care delivery and financing for individuals who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and those in need of long term services and supports. Prior to CHCS, Ms. Soper held positions at the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), and the Office of Chronic and Long-Term Care within the District of Columbia’s Department of Health Care Finance. Ms. Soper has a master’s degree in health science from The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene