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Advancing Specialty Care in Medicare Advantage: Physician Led, AI-Enabled

Advancing Specialty Care in Medicare Advantage: Physician Led, AI-Enabled

Julia McDowell

Vice President, AI Center of Excellence,
Highmark Health

Julia McDowell is vice president, AI program lead for Highmark Health. In this role, she commonly says, “I build bridges between machines and people.” As Artificial Intelligence (AI) is poised to transform every aspect of our lives including how we experience healthcare, Julia works to help Highmark Health’s team members trust the technology and understand how it can help them.

Julia has been a member of the Highmark Health team since 2013. Her roles – from HR Business Partner to Director of Talent Engagement to VP of Enterprise Change – have centered around enabling business strategy with people. That taught her how the spectrum of automation can transform work and how to care for the people impacts to maximize value creation.

Julia stepped into health care for a career growth opportunity. When her young husband was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer, she learned how complicated finding the right care can be and was fortunate to have enough understanding to know how to navigate the system. This motivates her to enable innovation in support of Highmark Health’s Living Health model.

Prior to Highmark Health, Julia worked in positions at Thermo Fisher Scientific. She graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Business Administration and earned her master’s degree at Robert Morris University in Instructional Leadership. She is the past president of Penn State Beaver Alumni Society board and is a volunteer at the Light of Life Rescue Mission.

Chuck Palermo

Vice President, Operations, Health Alliance Plan (HAP)

As Vice President of Operations, Chuck is responsible for the oversight of Claims Processing, Payment Integrity, Coordination of Benefits, Enrollment & Billing and Operational Support Services. In this role, Chuck works to ensure that activities within Operations are efficient, compliant, and cost-effective across all HAP product lines. Chuck and his team partner closely with various departments throughout the organization to ensure that operational practices are up to date and remain agile to address our clients’ needs. This focus ensures that HAP clients have a seamless experience when utilizing their health plan benefits.

Born and raised in Michigan, Chuck has 15 years of experience in the Michigan health insurance market with a strong focus on addressing the rising costs of healthcare through operational efficiencies and medical spend cost containment. Throughout his tenure at HAP, Chuck has been instrumental in developing and maturing HAPs Payment Integrity strategy along with many other operational initiatives. Additionally, as a licensed attorney, Chuck has a keen understanding of the regulatory pressures facing health plans, providers, and employer group customers.

Prior to joining HAP, Chuck began his healthcare career at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan where he served in multiple roles with progressive responsibility across various departments including Operations, Regulatory Affairs, and the Office of General Counsel. Through these experiences, Chuck has developed a well-rounded understanding of the healthcare landscape and consumer needs.

Chuck holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Detroit Mercy and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Chuck is also admitted to the State Bar of Michigan.

Krystal Revai, MD, MPH, CHIE

Associate Chief Medical
Officer, Health Alliance

Dr. Krystal Revai is a board-certified pediatrician, fellowship trained in academic general pediatrics. She transitioned from academic medicine to working for a national health plan after over 10 years in clinical practice. In June of 2021 Dr Revai joined Health Alliance medical plans as the Associate Chief Medical Officer. In this role she has oversight of medical management for over 250,000 commercial and Medicare Advantage lives which includes utilization management, care management, population health and quality.

In March of 2019 Dr. Revai completed a certification in life and weight coaching from The Life Coach School and launched Life Coaching for Gifted. She has advanced certifications in physician coaching and leadership coaching.

Dr, Revai believes that all brains are on the spectrum of normal. She thinks of herself as a wife, mother, coach, pediatrician, health care executive and lifelong learner. Twice exceptionality, multi-exceptionality, and neurodiversity are relatively new terms and Dr. Revai wants to spread awareness about these terms and the people who may identify with them, especially physicians. Dr. Reval helps twice expectational people overcome with the guilt, shame, and limiting beliefs that come with a neuro-developmental diagnosis.

Mary O’Connor, MD

Chief Medical Officer, Vori

Mary I. O’Connor, MD is an orthopedic surgeon, health equity leader, and healthcare entrepreneur. She is co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Vori Health, a virtual medical company with a mission to empower all humanity to lead its healthiest life. After a distinguished career at Mayo Clinic where Dr. O’Connor was awarded Professor Emerita status, she went on to lead the development of Yale’s Center for Musculoskeletal Care and was Professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at Yale School of Medicine. A passionate advocate for health equity, Dr. O’Connor has led the national non-profit coalition, Movement is Life, since its inception in 2010 to eliminate musculoskeletal health disparities. A graduate of Yale University, Dr. O’Connor obtained her medical degree from Drexel University College of Medicine and completed her orthopedic residency and fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.

 

Advancing Specialty Care in Medicare Advantage: Physician Led, AI-Enabled

The specialty care experience for Medicare Advantage (MA) members  is often fragmented, leading to higher costs, delayed care, and poorer health outcomes. Forward-thinking health plans are changing that by integrating AI into physician-led care models that prioritize coordination, personalization, and outcomes.

In this episode, explore how physician-led models and AI-enabled solutions are overcoming common barriers to transform specialty care—improving access, reducing costs, and driving better outcomes.

You’ll learn how leading health plans are:

  • Leveraging AI to enhance care planning, streamline complex medication management, and support shared decision-making—especially for seniors and high-risk populations
  • Aligning incentives with specialists to improve quality and controlling unnecessary spend in resource-constrained environments
  • Scaling care pathways to enhance the MA member experience throughout their healthcare journey—from diagnosis to treatment

Join us to discover how pragmatic, tech-enabled strategies are reshaping specialty care delivery across the payer and provider landscape.

Panelists:

  • Julia McDowell, Vice President, AI Center of Excellence, Highmark
  • Chuck Palermo, Vice President, Operations, Health Alliance Plan (HAP)
  • Krystal Revai, MD, MPH, CHIE, Associate Chief Medical Officer, Health Alliance
  • Mary O’Connor, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Vori

Julia McDowell

Vice President, AI Center of Excellence,
Highmark Health

Chuck Palermo

Vice President, Operations, Health Alliance Plan (HAP)

Krystal Revai, MD, MPH, CHIE

Associate Chief Medical
Officer, Health Alliance

Mary O’Connor, MD

Chief Medical Officer, Vori

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