Emmitt Smith
Pro Football Hall of Fame Running Back, Businessman and Entrepreneur
Speakers
115+ Speakers — The Leaders Running Payer Strategy Today
The lineup at Becker’s 5th Annual Fall Payer Issues Roundtable reflects the people making decisions inside health plans right now. It includes CEOs, COOs, CMOs, and payer leaders responsible for value-based care, affordability, and network strategy. This is one of the few events where more payer executives are in the room than at any other conference. The same leaders you benchmark against are the ones on stage.
About the Conference
Speakers come to be part of the conversations you need to be in
The roster is built around one question: who does this audience need in the conversation? Speakers are selected based on the decisions they own, the systems they run, and the peers they work alongside.
Over 90% of the speaker lineup is health plan leaders and executives.
Featured Speakers
Celebrity Keynotes
Leadership looks the same at the top
Select sessions bring in leaders from outside healthcare who have performed at the highest level under pressure. Their perspective sits alongside a program built around hospital and health system executives.
Speaker Lineup
Explore the full 2026 speaker lineup
Browse and explore all 70+ confirmed speakers across the program.
| Full Name | Job Title | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Nebeyou Abebe | Senior Vice President, Social Determinants of Health and Social Health Center of Excellence | Highmark Health |
| Deborah Adewale | Investor | Care First |
| Felix Aguilar | Quality Medical Director | L.A. Care |
| Jay Ahlmer | Executive Vice President | Virtix Health |
| Faris Ahmad | Senior Medical Director and Associate Chief Medical Officer, Physician Success and Network Optimization | Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan |
| Ayo Ajaiyeoba | Chief of Clinical Operations, Quality, and Strategy | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas |
| Jason Aldous | Program Director, Planning & Business Strategy | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont |
| Anita Allemand | Chief Growth Officer | Elevance Health |
| Amit Anand | Vice President, IT | Community Health Choice |
| Nishant Anand | President and Chief Executive Officer | Altais |
| Michael Bagel | Vice President, Policy | Alliance of Community Health Plans |
| Siva Balu | Senior Vice President, Chief Information and Digital Officer | Quartz |
| Jonathan Baran | Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer | Self Fund Health |
| Mary Benson | Growth Strategy Director | Blue Cross of Idaho |
| Elizabeth Benz | Senior Vice President, Strategy and Government Relations | Network Health Plan |
| Julie Bogorad | Director, Public Policy | Independence Blue Cross |
| Howard Brill | Senior Vice President, Population Health & Quality | Monroe Plan |
| Claire Brockbank | Director, Policy and Strategy | Building Service 32BJ Benefit Funds |
| Julia Bruner | Chief Medical Officer | Aetna OhioRISE |
| Jennifer Callahan | President and Chief Operating Officer | Atrio Health Plans |
| Todd Carlson | Senior Vice President, Engineering | CareSource |
| Caroline Carney | Chief Executive Officer | Magellan Health |
| Jocelyn Chisholm Carter | President | MedStar Family Choice |
| Jonathan Cho | Vice President, Medicare Product, Strategy, and Innovation | Healthfirst |
| Ken Cohen | Chief Medical Officer | Optum Health |
| Ceci Connolly | President and Chief Executive Officer | Alliance of Community Health Plans |
| Mia Connolly | Director, Market P&L | Oscar Health |
| Rishikesh P. Dalal | Regional Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Northeast Region | Humana |
| Raul Daza | Vice President, Payor and Provider Collaboration | GuideWell Health |
| Dennis Depenbusch | Director, New Ventures Initiative | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, Inc. |
| Louis DeStefano | Senior Vice President, Growth | Oscar Health |
| Todd DeYoung | Associate Vice President, Clinical Vendor Management | Humana |
| Meredith Duncan | President and Chief Executive Officer | Texicare |
| Jennifer Eisberg | Vice President, Network Market Enablement | Aetna |
| Michael Ellis | Vice President, Corporate Development | Blue Shield of California |
| Mark El-Tawil | Chief Administration and Finance Executive | Blue Cross Blue Shield Arizona |
| Melanie Fernando | President and Chief Executive Officer | Aetna Better Health of Illinois |
| Ashley Fisher | Vice President, Strategy | HAP |
| Thomas Friedman | Executive Administrator | North Carolina State Health Plan |
| Nancy Garrett | Vice President, Market and Provider Analytics | Highmark Health |
| Cristal Gary | President and Chief Executive Officer | Meridian Health Plan of Illinois |
| Chris Gay | Chief Executive Officer | Evry Health |
| James Grana | Vice President, Value Based Care Programs, Network Development, and Contracting | BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina |
| Emily Griese | Vice President, Clinical Operations | BlueCross BlueShield Minnesota |
| Deborah Hammond | Vice President Medical Director | Healthfirst |
| Caleb Hemmer | Vice President, Growth | Belong Health |
| Jessica A. Hohman | Associate Chief Medical Officer, Value-Based Care, Trend and Network | Cigna Healthcare |
| Melissa Honour | Vice President, Product | Stellarus |
| Casey Hossa | Chief Information Officer | Health New England |
| Bethany Irvin | Senior Director, Pharmacy Partnerships and Transformation | Blue Shield of California |
November 2–3, 2026 · Swissotel Chicago
See the Speakers Live And Continue the Conversation After
Every session is open to every attendee. After the session, speakers are in the hallway, at receptions, and at roundtables. That's where the real conversations happen.