Managed Care - May 2008 - (Page 39) Q&A A Conversation With Reed Tuckson, MD Championing Change From the Inside The UnitedHealth executive brings experience in public health and physician leadership to bear on issues facing health plans e health insurance industry is uniquely positioned today to make a profound difference in how our health care system evolves, and working in that environment is a privilege, says Reed Tuckson, MD, FACP, executive vice president and chief of medical affairs at UnitedHealth Group and member of the board of directors of United Health Foundation. “We are innovating at extraordinary rates, and what we will bring to American health care over the next two years will be simply astounding,” he says. “We should be very proud of what we do.” Tuckson’s enthusiasm for solving problems and for innovation spans a wide range of issues, including consumerism in health care, the use of the Internet, and finding ways to cover the uninsured. He has followed a diverse career path, serving as commissioner of public health for the District of Columbia, president of the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, and senior vice president for professional standards at the American Medical Association. He joined UnitedHealth Group in 2000 as senior vice president for consumer health and medical care advancement, and accepted his current position in 2006. He spoke recently with Managed Care Editor John Marcille. MC: Without predicting who will be president, it seems likely that we will see some changes to the Medicare Advantage program. Do you have any vision of what the changes might be and how they might affect the industry? TUCKSON: I don’t think anyone is smart enough to have a crystal ball right now be- Th MAY 2008 / MANAGED CARE 39
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