Benefits industry experts, companies, new hires, and partnerships in the news this week include the following:

Mike Lindemulder has joined independent insurance brokerage Assurance as Vice President in its employee benefits practice. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Administration and Finance from Elmhurst College. Lindemulder will work out of Assurance’s Schaumburg headquarters.

MAXIS Global Benefits Network, the international employee benefits joint venture between MetLife and AXA, announced that AXA Ukraine is the latest provider to become a member. AXA Ukraine had total premium written of UAH1.4 billion ($53.3 million) in 2016 and joins nearly 140 member insurance firms in the network worldwide.

The SPARK Institute, a nonprofit organization representing the retirement services industry, announced the winners of its 2017 SPARK Awards for Investment Innovation and Innovation in Plan Design & Administration at the SPARK Forum. The award for Investment Innovation went to Chuck Dobson, a Regional Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and a Senior Plan Consultant for NFP. The award for Innovation in Plan Design & Administration went to Carol Idone, Vice President of Client Relationship Management and Consulting at Strategic Benefit Services.

Transamerica announced that current client Michael, Best & Friedrich, LLP, a national law firm based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, selected the company to be their sole retirement plan provider. The decision will bring Michael Best’s 401(k) plan to Transamerica, who also currently manages the firm’s defined benefit program. The 401(k) plan has more than$160 million in plan assets, and over 650 participants.

RxTE Health, which specializes in pharmacy cost reduction programs for employers, has hired Sara Linnerooth, PharmD, as Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations. She will be responsible for overall strategy and execution of clinical development activities, including solution design and product roadmap. Previously, Linnerooth was a clinical pharmacist at WellDyneRx.

Bundled payment platform provider Carrum Health announced that it was named the winner of the 2017 Healthcare Innovation Challenge, a collaboration between Harvard Business School and Harvard Medical School. The award recognizes deployed healthcare solutions that can demonstrate value, impact on cost and quality of care delivered, and scalability. Additionally, last week Carrum was selected by the National Business Group on Health to present to its board, which includes HR and benefits executives at some of America’s largest companies.

Workers' compensation strategist David Huth is the newest member of Rising Medical Solutions' (Rising) executive leadership team. In his role as Vice President of Product Design and Development, he will be responsible for optimizing Rising's managed care portfolio. Most recently, David served as Vice President of Strategy for Optum's managed care and settlement solutions division

CVS Health announced it has set a goal of hiring 5,000 new apprentices by 2022. The goal reflects an expansion of the company's Registered Apprenticeship program to seven additional states, including Arizona, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, bringing the total number of statewide apprenticeship programs supported by CVS Health to 18. More than 4,700 colleagues have joined its Registered Apprenticeship career tracks for retail pharmacy, prescription benefit management and retail store management.

The Arkansas Department of Insurance announced today that ForeverCare, Inc. is certified and licensed as a PASSE (Provider-owned Arkansas Shared Saving Entity) to provide access to health care for Medicaid eligible residents of Arkansas. ForeverCare, along with three other provider-led health plans, will deliver access to health care through the PASSE model of care, which is unique to Arkansas and provides coordination of physical health, behavioral health and home and community services to vulnerable Arkansans who qualify for these services due to specific health conditions.

Centene Corporation announced the appointments of several key executives:

Cynthia J. Brinkley, currently Executive Vice President of Global Corporate Development, has been appointed President and Chief Operating Officer.
Jesse N. Hunter, Executive Vice President of Products, has been appointed Executive Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions and Chief Strategy Officer.
Mark J. Brooks has been appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer.
Kevin J. Counihan has been appointed Senior Vice President of Products.
Michael F. Neidorff will remain Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Instant Insights /

New hires, partnerships, programs in the benefits industry

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