Regional Medical Executive,
West/Northeast Region,
Cigna Medicare
Dr. Grant Tarbox is a board-certified family practitioner who serves as regional medical executive for Cigna Medicare’s west / northeast region. In this role, he leads a team of physician market medical executives who support Cigna’s clinical strategy for 19 states. He and his team drive key projects while working to ensure care remains accessible and affordable for Medicare Advantage customers.
Dr. Tarbox came to Cigna in 2020 with more than 15 years of progressive leadership experience, primarily at Aetna. Throughout his career, Dr. Tarbox has worked within different systems to promote and educate on the aspects of patient satisfaction and health care quality, including improving doctor-patient communications and following evidence-based medicine guidelines.
Dr. Tarbox, who resides in Fort Worth, obtained his Doctor of Osteopathy from the University of North Texas (UNT) Health Science Center and completed a residency in family medicine at the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. After completing training, Dr. Tarbox stayed on staff with Mayo Clinic for an additional four years before pursuing other practice opportunities.
Associate Vice President,
Population Health and Clinical
Transformation, UPMC Health Plan
Dr. Beckjord oversees Population Health for UPMC Health Plan and its 3.5 million members. She is an Adjunct Professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy where she teaches Population Health Management. She is currently serving as Program Chair for the 2022 annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
Dr. Beckjord is a behavioral scientist and epidemiologist working at the intersection of population and digital health. Her work is focused on the use of digital tools in clinical operations to achieve efficiency and impact in population health management. She has extensive experience in applying just-in-time adaptive intervention methodology to the development of real-time behavior change and population-level interventions.
Dr. Beckjord is a national thought leader in population health management, behavioral medicine, and digital health and is a highly sought-after speaker. She has worked in government, clinical, consulting, and academic settings and is a highly collaborative, data-driven, enthusiastic leader who appreciates opportunities to solve complex problems in health care. Her guiding principle is: Lead with Love.
Manager, Population Health,
SCAN Health Plan
Sophie (she/her) has 15 years of experience in health care spanning both the US and Australia. She currently leads and manages strategy on mental health and social wellbeing for SCAN’s 280,000 members. Her motivation throughout her career is on social justice and health equity and on amplifying the voices of those less able to advocate for themselves.
She has held senior advisory and research roles in health care in Australia, where her work focused on advocating for those with mental illness, and those with an intellectual disability. She brought about much-needed legislative and policy reform in both these sectors and impacted the lives of 7 million Australians.
In her work at SCAN, Sophie continues her advocacy for older adults, people with a disability and those experiencing mental illness or substance use disorders and is concerned with bringing increased awareness of the social factors influencing health.
She received a Master of Policy & Applied Social Research (MPASR) from Macquarie University, Sydney and a Bachelor of Social Science (B.Sc.) Macquarie University, Sydney. When not working, Sophie is a busy mom of twin girls, and a teenage stepdaughter, who loves spending time in the desert and volunteering in the community. She is originally from Sydney, Australia.
Chairman & CEO, Family First
Evan has dedicated his career as an entrepreneur and political reformer. Serving as President of Best Doctors for 14 years, Evan took on the problem of misdiagnosis. Under his leadership, Best Doctors grew from a few million in revenue to more than $200 million, helping over 30 million people around the world ensure they or a loved one had the correct diagnosis.
As the CEO and Chairman of Family First, Evan is focused on creating innovative solutions to support families in solving the complex and complicated issues involved with caregiving.
Senior Manager, Community
Relations, UPMC for Life,
UPMC Health Plan
Kendra has diverse experiences in health care, gerontology, and long-term care. Kendra has a Master’s in Administration of Aging Organizations and Gerontology and for the past 15 years has worked in various capacities in the community and with older adults promoting health and wellness.
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Great conversation about real-life problems caring for real-life patients!!!
— Kim Tjanden, Medical Director, Community Health, CentraCare
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— Mary Freeman, Director, Baptist Memorial Health Care
The topics were directly aligned with our company’s missions!
— Tracy Fennessy, Senior Relationship Manager, Business Development & Community Health, Point32Health
Who knew there would be a podcast about my actual job? I appreciate hearing how others are navigating the health plan world.
— Hayley Peebles, Lead Care Manager, Network Health
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— Marie Wendt, Director of Clinical Quality & Care Management, Great Lakes Physicians Organization, P.C.
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— Shelley Krawchuk, RN, CPHQ, Clinical Program Manager, Health Net, Inc
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I picked up quite a bit that I had not considered with SDoH digital divide. It was especially interesting to hear from the panelists their thoughts and the programs they have put into place to improve the member experience, as well as barriers with language and culture. Thank You!
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Excellent overview of value and importance of video marketing; as a medical director myself, it opened my eyes to various opportunities for our health system to improve.
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