Zing Health Appoints Seasoned Healthcare Finance Executive Mete Sahin as Chief Financial Officer

PR Newswire

CHICAGO, July 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Zing Health, a physician-led Medicare Advantage HMO plan, announced today Mete Sahin has been named Chief Financial Officer. Sahin brings 25 years of healthcare finance expertise to further Zing Health's goal of providing affordable, holistic and inclusive care to improve community health for underserved populations.

Sahin has deep experience assessing, developing and implementing strategies for healthcare companies, from private equity fundraising, financing, M&A and business integrations to Medicare Advantage bidding, internal controls, financial systems and reporting. Sahin's knowledge in pricing health insurance plans and controlling costs will further Zing Health's ability to implement innovative Medicare Advantage plans that work in the community to make sure members get the right care at the right time.

"As a consultant during our Chicago launch, Mete was instrumental in raising capital and building solid financial processes and systems," said Dr. Eric Whitaker, Zing Health co-founder and CEO. "As an experienced healthcare finance executive, Mete knows the playbook for running a comprehensive insurance plan that improves outcomes for its members at lower cost. We look forward to working with him in a full-time capacity as he builds a healthcare finance team with tremendous Medicare Advantage experience and proven performance."

Sahin's Financial Role Key to Improving Community Health

Sahin previously served as CFO of Advance Health, overseeing its growth and 2018 merger with CenseoHealth to form Signify Health, a New Mountain Capital portfolio company. In this role, Sahin was responsible for creating cost-efficient processes that enabled Advance Health to meet complex care needs through early, person-to-person interventions. These innovations ranged from aligning the incentives of medical providers to improve patient health to heading off potential adverse drug interactions or hospital visits. The network of nurse practitioners worked with doctors in the nation's leading Medicare Advantage programs to identify gaps and health risks for hundreds of thousands of patients.

Prior to his tenure with Advance Health, Sahin was CFO of XLHealth Corp., helping its subsidiary Care Improvement Plus grow, innovate and stage a rapid financial turnaround. In six years, XLHealth grew from a $600 million operator of Medicare Advantage special needs plans to a $2 billion plus company acquired by UnitedHealth Group. As CFO of UnitedHealth's dental, vision and Medicaid business segments, Sahin reorganized offerings to become efficient and more responsive. He was also vice president-finance and controller of Lifemark Corp. before it was absorbed into UnitedHealth.

Mr. Sahin earned his master's degree from the University of Surrey in England and a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

COVID-19 Sharpens Focus on Underserved Populations

"Due to the COVID-19 crisis, people are more aware of the importance of caring for their immune system and treating underlying risk factors. With the right processes and protocols in place, a higher level of care can drive down medical costs," Sahin said. "I'm confident in Zing Health's mission to offer attractive Medicare Advantage plans that deliver high-quality services to underserved populations at little or no cost to members. I look forward to working alongside Eric and the rest of his leadership team to accomplish these goals."

As a company co-founded by the American Medical Association's Health 2047 innovation lab, Zing Health is a physician-led company committed to lowering healthcare costs through innovative, data-informed practices. Every member's care team includes not only the medical provider but also a nurse, a behavioral health specialist, a community health worker and access to a 24-hour nurse advice line and telehealth video services.

Zing Health has been empowered in its effort to focus on populations underserved by traditional health insurance models and expand to more Midwest counties and recently announced a commitment of up to $150 million in equity by Newlight Partners, a private investment firm.

This holistic approach allows its field teams to address social determinants of health such as housing quality, food availability, access to transportation and racial and gender inequality—for example, making house calls to identify asthma triggers or partnering with community organizations and clinics to connect members to lower cost or overlooked local services. The robust and integrated services Zing Health provides are sustained by its inventive, tech-enabled platform that lets all team members and stakeholders work together.

About Zing Health
Zing Health Holdings, Inc. is a tech-enabled insurance company making Medicare Advantage the best it can be for those 65 and over. Zing Health has a community-based approach that recognizes the importance of the social determinants of health in keeping individuals and communities healthy. Zing Health aims to return the physician and the member to the center of the health care equation. Members receive individualized assistance to make their transition to Zing Health as easy as possible. Zing Health offers members the ability to personalize their plans, access to facilities designed to help them better meet their healthcare needs and a dedicated care team. For more information on Zing Health, visit www.myzinghealth.com.

About Newlight Partners LP
Newlight Partners LP is a private investment firm focused on collaborating with management teams and strategic investors to build unique, durable businesses, predominantly in North America. For more than 15 years, the Newlight team has helped build successful enterprises in five sectors, including financial services, telecommunications, power and renewable energy, healthcare services and business services. Led by David Wassong and Ravi Yadav, the Newlight team has invested approximately $6 billion in over 100 investments since 2005, first as the Strategic Investments Group at Soros Fund Management LLC (Soros), and now as Newlight after the team's spin out from Soros in 2018. Newlight has approximately $4 billion in capital commitments and assets under management.

Media Contacts:

Zing Health
Purpose BrandLisa Skolnik[email protected]; 773-230-8638

Newlight Partners
Gasthalter & Co.Jonathan Gasthalter/Nathaniel Garnick(212) 257-4170