Aetna Announces CEO to Lead New Aetna Medicaid Plan in Kansas

Business Wire

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Aetna (NYSE: AET) has named Keith Wisdom as the Chief Executive Officer for Aetna Better Health^® of Kansas, Aetna’s Medicaid health plan in the state. Aetna Better Health was recently selected by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to offer Medicaid benefits to enrollees statewide in the KanCare Medicaid managed care program starting on January 1, 2019.

“We are excited for Keith to be the first CEO of our new Medicaid plan in Kansas,” said Janet Grant, Aetna Better Health’s vice president of the Great Plains Region. “Keith has over 25 years of experience working in health care in the state and we believe he is the right choice to work with the State of Kansas, health care providers and community leaders to help improve the health of Kansas’ most vulnerable populations.”

Wisdom, who will lead the company’s Kansas market effective immediately, will be accountable for the overall success of the Kansas Medicaid health plan. His responsibilities will focus on building the local market team, driving overall strategy, managing state and provider relationships, driving financial performance and improving quality and member health.

Most recently, Wisdom served as general manager over Aetna’s Medicare business in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Illinois, where he managed plan performance, strategy, sales and customer service agendas, and product design. In addition, he led execution of compliance, revenue, operations, network strategy, STARs, and medical cost structure positioning.

Prior to that, Wisdom was Aetna’s Market President for Kansas, Nebraska and western Missouri, where he led overall financial and growth performance, overall strategies, network, product, distribution and sales for the company’s Commercial, Medicare, and Individual lines of business.

Additionally, Wisdom held roles at UnitedHealthcare, Cigna, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City and Arthur Andersen.

Wisdom has a Bachelor of Science in accounting and business administration from the University of Kansas.

Additional leadership team appointments and roles include:

Scott Brunner, Head of Community Relations – Brunner will serve as the Head of Community Relations, reporting directly to Keith. Scott will be integral in managing all the key relationships with Kansas Medicaid stakeholders. Brunner previously led Aetna Medicaid Policy. Prior to that, Brunner served as the Kansas Medicaid Director.
Mike McClure, Director of Provider Experience – McClure will be responsible for driving a positive provider experience from initial contracting through ongoing operations. Based in Overland Park, Mike previously led network contracting for Aetna Better Health of Missouri.

About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving an estimated 38.8 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental and behavioral health plans, and medical management capabilities, Medicaid health care management services, workers' compensation administrative services and health information technology products and services. Aetna's customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see http://www.aetna.com and learn about how Aetna is helping to build a healthier world. @AetnaNews

About Aetna Medicaid
Aetna Medicaid Administrators LLC (Aetna Medicaid) has over 30 years of experience managing the care of the most medically vulnerable, using innovative approaches and a local presence in each market to achieve both successful health care results and effective cost outcomes. Aetna Medicaid has particular expertise serving high-need Medicaid members, including those who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. Currently, Aetna Medicaid owns and/or administers Medicaid managed health care plans under the names of Aetna Better Health and other affiliate names. Together, these plans serve 2.8 million people in 15 states, including Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Texas. For more information, see www.aetnabetterhealth.com