Andrew T. Kirkner has been selected to lead the West Virginia Association of Health Plans (WVAHP) as its Executive Director.
The WVAHP is a trade association comprised of West Virginia’s Managed Care Organizations, including Aetna Better Health of West Virginia, The Health Plan, Unicare Health Plan of West Virginia and West Virginia Family Health. The WVAHP was formed in 2016 with the goal to provide assistance to the state of West Virginia in its transition to managed care Medicaid delivery, reduce costs of administering West Virginia’s Medicaid system and improve the health of West Virginia’s Medicaid recipients.
“Medicaid is an extremely important piece of the overall healthcare picture in West Virginia. With the state facing significant budget shortfalls, public-private partnerships – like those between the WVAHP’s members and the State of West Virginia – are more important now than in recent memory. By coordinating care, increasing competition and placing a renewed emphasis on health management, Managed Care Organizations can lower West Virginia’s Medicaid costs and provide the state with much-needed budget predictability.” said Kirkner
WVAHP President Mitch Collins echoed Kirkner’s statements: “We are excited to bring Andrew aboard at the WVAHP. We believe he is uniquely equipped to lead the WVAHP and further develop the partnership between the Managed Care Health Plans and the State of West Virginia,” said Collins.
Kirkner is an attorney with Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP and focuses his practice in the areas of government relations and civil and administrative litigation. He has represented clients across a wide spectrum of topic areas including: Medicaid, healthcare, insurance, public education and public utility industries before West Virginia’s legislative and regulatory bodies since 2013.
