Melisa S. Byrd, Senior Deputy Director and Medicaid Director, D.C. Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF)

Melisa serves as the principal manager for the District’s Medicaid, CHIP, Alliance and Immigrant Children’s programs. She directs the day-to-day organization, planning, implementation and evaluation of the programs to ensure compliance with federal and District laws. In addition, Melisa advises the DHCF Director on all major policy and budget issues related to DHCF’s health care programs. Previously, Ms. Byrd served as the agency’s Chief of Staff and as the Associate Director of the Office of the Public Provider Liaison. Throughout Melisa’s nearly 20 years in health policy and Medicaid, she has focused on state-level programs and efforts to expand coverage and reform healthcare systems. She has also worked on local, state and national levels and in both public and private sectors, including Health Management Associates (HMA), the Louisiana Department of Health and the National Governors Association.

Dr. Ateev Mehrotra, M.D., M.P.H., Associate Professor of Health Care Policy and Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Mehrotra's research focuses on the impact of delivery innovations on costs, quality and access. Dr. Mehrotra received his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco and completed his residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Boston.

Magda Rusinowski, Vice President, Business Group on Health

Magda has an overall strategic and operational responsibility for the Cost & Delivery Institute, leading that group in identifying best practices and promising solutions to employers’ health care cost and delivery challenges and influencing market-based payment and delivery reforms. Prior to joining Business Group on Health in 2018, Magda served as the Director of US Health and Insurance Benefits at PepsiCo, Inc. In that role, Magda was responsible for developing US health benefits strategy, factoring into the plan design decisions evidence-based insights, industry best practices and the needs of the diverse and largely frontline population. Magda is a CPA and spent the first ten years of her career at PepsiCo holding a variety of financial reporting and accounting roles. She graduated from Baruch College, City University of New York, with a BBA in Accounting.

Sam Starbuck, Vice President, Privia Quality Network

Sam serves as the Vice President of Privia Quality Network in the Mid-Atlantic Market. In his role Sam leads the implementation and operations of Value-Based Programs and activities supporting over 450,000 patients and 1,200 providers across DC, MD, and VA. He joined Privia in 2015 on the Strategy and Innovation team, working to build capabilities that support the delivery of high-quality and cost-effective care, before taking over leadership of the ACO a few years later.

MODERATOR

Brian R. Wheeler, Vice President, Provider Collaboration and Network Transformation, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield

Brian is responsible for leading the overall provider and network-related business functions, which includes the Practice and Payment Transformation Group, as well as Provider Contracting and Network Strategy, Network Operations, and Provider Relations and Engagement for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. In this role, he is responsible for leading CareFirst’s five-year transition from “Volume to Value.” He is supported in this effort by a team of experts in value-based payment models, practice transformation, data analytics, contracting strategists, and provider-relationship collaborators, dedicated to making healthcare more affordable and accessible for the communities CareFirst serves.