3rd Quarter Breakfast brought to you by a collaboration between our Local Program Council (Beaumont Region) & ACHE-SETC!
Panel Discussion “Insurance and Hospital Relations: Reading Between the Lines”
Our Breakfast meeting will be held from 6:45 AM – 9:30 AM
DAVID KOFORD, FHFMA
Vice President of Health Plan Contracting
Community Hospital Corporation
David Koford is the Vice President of Health Plan Contracting for Community Hospital Corporation (CHC), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting community hospitals to enhance efficiency, improve quality and strengthen financial stability. His responsibilities include the management of the over 450 payor agreements held by the 26 hospitals either owned or managed by CHC throughout the United States.
Prior to joining CHC in 2013, David held managed care contract management positions with Cirrus Health and Triad Hospitals in Dallas Texas and Methodist Healthcare Systems in San Antonio Texas. Early in his career, David worked for FHP Healthcare and PacifiCare in both operations and health plan management.
David earned a B.S in Psychology and a Masters of Health Administration from Brigham Young University.
David has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations and currently serves on the board of Parkland Community Health Plan in Dallas Texas.
Susan Escudier
Susan Escudier, M.D., FACP, serves as vice president, value-based care and quality programs for Texas Oncology. She also serves as regional medical director for Texas Oncology’s Gulf Coast region. Since 1994, Dr. Escudier practices breast medical oncology, medical oncology and hematology at Texas Oncology–Houston Medical Center. She is a clinical associate professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and previously served as assistant professor at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where she was involved in leukemia research. Dr. Escudier participates in local, state, and national programs to improve the lives of cancer patients.
Jarod Stewart
Jarod Stewart is Managing Partner of the Houston office of Steptoe LLP, an international law firm headquartered in Washington DC. He is a seasoned litigator and trial lawyer specializing in complex commercial disputes and trials. Jarod has significant experience in healthcare-related matters and has long represented hospitals and hospital systems, physicians and physician groups, and other healthcare providers in their commercial and contract disputes, managed care matters, billing and payment audits and disputes, and medical malpractice matters, among others. He has gone toe-to-toe with outstanding lawyers from across the United States and has won significant victories for his clients in court, arbitration, and administrative proceedings
Chris Knackstedt
Chris has worked for 30 years in the healthcare industry and has served in senior executive positions in some of the nations’ top integrated health systems and insurance plans including as CEO, President and CFO. In addition to operational, treasury, and strategic financial operations, Chris has deep experience and gained expertise in all aspects of managing provider systems and health plans, integrating health plans with provider systems, and specifically, focused his efforts on leading these organizations in developing new capabilities in accountable care, medical cost risk assumption, clinically integrated networks, and value-based contracts. The experience has been valuable in understanding many of the unique market opportunities available and how providers and payers can come together in new ways to achieve the triple aim.
He holds his MBA and is also a CPA. For the past eight years, Chris has worked extensively with a partner in growing ValueIQ, a boutique consulting firm serving health plans and some of the nations’ top integrated health systems in providing operational and strategic consulting services as well as providing guidance and operational support on their transition from fee-for-service payment arrangements to value-based payment arrangements.
He is also a founder of Tellus Wellness. Tellus Wellness offers a trusted and credentialed network of chiropractors, acupuncturists, nutritionists, massage therapists, and naturopaths to self-funded employers. The network integrates into the employer health benefit plan offering by expanding employee benefits, providing evidence-based navigation tools to the member to aid in their education and selection of the best type of practitioner for their complaint, and creating direct access for members to these complementary providers. Early results have shown significant reductions in cost to the employer and member while increasing satisfaction for the members.
Philip Eaves
Philip Eaves currently serves as the President and CEO at the Ascension Seton Health Alliance, and the Vice President of Population Health at Ascension Texas. Philip is responsible for leading the largest clinically integrated network in Central Texas with over 4,000 providers, managing over 230,000 value-based lives through two Medicare Shared Savings Programs (MSSP), multiple commercial models and a direct-to-employer model. Philip’s responsibilities include leading the Seton ACO which performed in the top 7% of all ACOs in 2022. Additionally, Philip leads a community of providers who participate in an MSSP through a collaborative partnership with CVS Accountable Care Organization.
Philip is passionate about helping others improve their lives, and he allows this passion to drive his focus in finding ways to improve the health of everyday Americans while reducing the overall costs of healthcare. Philip is a passionate change agent who has spent most of his career driving healthcare transformation within large health systems through direct-to-employer programs and alternative payment models for commercial and Medicare beneficiaries. Philip is a strong advocate for primary care, and he believes that meaningful patient-provider relationships are central in transforming the state of healthcare in the United States.
Philip holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Lamar University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Houston-Downtown.
