Ferguson out at HealthSource RI, Wallack in

ANYA RADER WALLACK has been appointed the new director of HealthSource RI, according to Gov.-elect Gina M. Raimondo. / COURTESY ARROWHEALTH HEALTH ANALYTICS
ANYA RADER WALLACK has been appointed the new director of HealthSource RI, according to Gov.-elect Gina M. Raimondo. / COURTESY ARROWHEALTH HEALTH ANALYTICS

PROVIDENCE – Anya Rader Wallack will be appointed the new director of HealthSource RI, Rhode Island’s health insurance exchange, Gov.-elect Gina M. Raimondo announced Tuesday.
Wallack has a “long career” in state health policy, according to information from Raimondo, having served two governors in Vermont and having worked on Massachusetts healthcare reform.

Wallack said she will start the new position on Jan. 7.
“Anya brings the right mix of policy expertise, management skill and innovative thinking to this job,” Raimondo said in a statement. “We need a leader who can establish HSRI as a sustainable and affordable organization that provides clear return-on-investment to Rhode Island families and employers.”
Raimondo also praised outgoing Health Source Director Christine C. Ferguson, saying that she “exhibited vision and tenacity under difficult circumstances to implement the [Affordable Care Act].”
“She helped create our exchange from scratch in order to make health care more accessible to Rhode Island families and businesses. We appreciate her service to our state,” Raimondo said.

Wallack said she thinks HealthSource RI has been effective, adding it seems to be more effective than exchanges in some other states.

“So the main challenge is how do we sustain that and keep it going so that Rhode Island can continue to reap the benefits of it,” she said.

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Wallack served from 2011-2013 as the first chair of the Green Mountain Care Board in Vermont, a regulatory agency that oversees insurance rates, hospital budgets and health care payment innovation. Since 2013, she has chaired the Vermont Health Care Innovation Project, which aims to overhaul provider payment, health information technology and care coordination in the state to contain costs while maintaining high-quality care.
Wallack also was a member and chair of the Cost Containment Committee of the Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council from 2008-2010.

She has been president of Arrowhead Health Analytics in Fall River, Mass. since 2010.

Wallack holds a Ph.D. in social policy from Brandeis University. She lives in Little Compton with her husband, Stan, and their son.

Wallack’s appointment was publicized by R.I. Public Radio last week, though officials declined comment at that time.

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