Vice President, Pharmacy
Services, Independent Health
Martin oversees the pharmacy benefit at Independent Health, a nonprofit health plan serving the 8 counties of Western New York. His responsibilities include oversight of pharmacy benefits for Commercial, Medicare, Medicaid and Self Funded lines of business with direct oversight of budgets, servicing, trend management, drug formularies, specialty pharmacy, network pharmacy contracting, MTM, pharmacy stakeholder servicing and compliance, including Medicare Part D.
Before Independent Health, he practiced community pharmacy with Wegmans Food and Pharmacy as a Pharmacy Manager for ten years. His professional affiliations include member of the Board of Directors of the Pharmacists Association of Western New York, Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, Board of Directors of the University at Buffalo Blue and White Club, and member of the UB and Canisius College Alumni Associations. He is also a past member of the North Tonawanda Board of Education.
Martin is a 1981 graduate of Canisius College with a BA in Biology and a 1985 graduate of the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy.
Founder and Chief Executive
Officer, Vori Health
Ryan is a serial entrepreneur and board-certified, Yale-trained neurosurgeon who was most recently at Geisinger Medical Center practicing complex spine surgery. He left his surgical practice to co-found Vori Health and drive value-based healthcare transformation in the musculoskeletal sector, including back, hip, and knee pain treatment.
Additionally, Ryan co-founded Nomad Health – an award-winning online marketplace that directly connects healthcare clinicians to healthcare jobs, has participated in medical device development, and has taught at several medical schools and universities. He received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science from the University of Michigan and his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his neurosurgical residency and complex spine fellowship at Yale University.
Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, Arkansas Blue Cross
Blue Shield
Mark T. Jansen, M.D., joined Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield in July of 2019. He serves as Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Dr. Jansen, who has been board-certified in Family Medicine since 1984, spent 29 years as a primary care physician in Arkadelphia, Arkansas before joining the Univ. of Arkansas for Medical Sciences faculty in 2013. Most recently he served as Chief Medical Officer for Regional Programs for UAMS (formerly known as the Area Health Education Centers AHEC program). He is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and Arkansas Medical Society. In April 2016, Dr. Jansen was invested as the inaugural recipient of the Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, George K. Mitchell, M.D., Endowed Chair in Primary Care. In 2015, he was named Teacher of the Year in the UAMS Department of Family & Preventive Medicine. He is married to Cindy, an APRN. They have two children, a son Neal who is the Japan Director for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and has lived in Japan for 19 years. Their daughter Suzanne is a Pharm. D and resides in Fort Smith. They have 5 grandchildren.
Senior Vice President of
Employer, Government
and Coalitions, CVS Caremark
Ilona Smith serves as senior vice president of the Employer, Government and Coalitions business unit of CVS Caremark,
leading a team responsible for all sales and account
management for these groups.
She and her team grow and retain clients by understanding
their unique goals and achieve them through program
administration, innovative service delivery, and strategic planning.
Ilona joined CVS Health in 2003 and has held several positions
of increasing responsibility across different lines of business, all focused on delivering service to clients, including her prior role as Division Head, Employer Accounts.
Ilona holds a bachelor’s degree in History from the University of
Texas at San Antonio, and a master’s degree in Management
from Baker University.
Panelists will explore innovative strategies and best practices for implementing a comprehensive weight management program that ensures responsible access to GLP-1 medications while controlling costs.
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