Talya Schwartz, MD, Appointed President and CEO of MetroPlus Health Plan

Dr. Schwartz has served as Chief Medical Officer at MetroPlus since
2016; prior to MetroPlus she served in various leadership roles in
regional and national health plans

MetroPlus, NYC’s Public Option, is the low-cost, high-quality health
insurance component of NYC’s Guaranteed Health Care plan to ensure
health care for all New Yorkers

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/NYC?src=hash” target=”_blank”gt;#NYClt;/agt;–The Board of MetroPlus Health Plan today announced the appointment of
Talya Schwartz, MD, as the health plan’s President and CEO. MetroPlus is
the low-cost, five-star quality health insurance plan of choice for more
than 500,000 New Yorkers. As the health plan owned by NYC Health +
Hospitals, MetroPlus is a vital component of Mayor de Blasio’s
Guaranteed Health Care plan to ensure health care for all New Yorkers.
Dr. Schwartz, currently the Chief Medical Officer of MetroPlus, assumed
her new position on May 10^th. The five-star rated health plan
is the health insurance plan of NYC Health + Hospitals and growing and
strengthening the plan is part of the public health
system’s comprehensive, multi-year redesign to build a competitive,
sustainable organization that will continue to offer high-quality and
accessible health care to the people of New York City.

“On behalf of the board, I am delighted to announce Dr. Schwartz’s
appointment as President and CEO,” said MetroPlus Board Chair Sally
Hernandez-Piñero. “MetroPlus is the plan of choice for over half a
million New Yorkers. We are confident Dr. Schwartz is the strong,
clear-sighted leader we need to help ensure many more New Yorkers have
access to affordable health services they deserve.”

“I am honored to assume this role to continue serving so many fellow New
Yorkers in this new capacity in close collaboration with Health +
Hospitals,” said Dr. Talya Schwartz. “MetroPlus has been
providing coverage to all eligible New Yorkers, regardless of their
situation, since 1985. I am proud of our long history of inclusive,
person-centric, quality-driven care, and look forward to extending that
care to many more City residents.”

Since 2016, Dr. Schwartz has served as Chief Medical Officer at
MetroPlus, leading the Medical Management division including quality,
case management, utilization management, pharmacy, network relations,
provider contracting, credentialing, health analytics and various lines
of business. Under her leadership MetroPlus ranked among the top plans
in the State for quality. She transformed the care management program
into a holistic, field-based program that now also addresses social
determinants of health with special focus on housing for its homeless
population. Additionally, the Plan became a state-designated peer
certification program for HIV peers and has made great strides in
engaging patients in their own care to achieve high levels of HIV
suppression, results that have been presented at medical conferences at
home and abroad.

Dr. Schwartz joined MetroPlus from the private sector. She has been a
founding member of a behavioral health technology startup company and
prior to that served in various leadership roles in regional and
national health plans. Earlier in her career she worked as a strategic
consultant at the Advisory Board Company, a post-doctoral researcher at
the University of Pennsylvania, and served as a Fellow at the National
Institute of Health.

Dr. Schwartz earned her medical degree from Sackler Medical School and a
graduate certificate in Health Services Management and Leadership from
the George Washington University. She completed her residency in
Pediatrics at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, and
worked as a pediatrician at Children’s National Medical Center in
Washington, DC.

Dr. Schwartz replaces Arnold Saperstein, MD, who served as President and
CEO of MetroPlus since 2006.

MetroPlus Enrollment Efforts

• Agency Partnerships – MetroPlus Health has developed
  partnerships with a number of city agencies, including the NYC
  Department of Probation and the NYC Department of Small Business
  Services (SBS), to provide New Yorkers who interact with city agencies
  information about its affordable health insurance plan and encourage
  them to enroll. The new collaborations support the Executive Order
  signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio in January requiring city agencies to
  enroll people in insurance anywhere where New Yorkers are directly
  served.
• Membership Growth – The health plan reached a 45 percent jump
  in membership for MetroPlus Gold, the special insurance option
  exclusively for New York City employees. More than 16,200 City
  employees and government retirees chose MetroPlus as their preferred
  health plan by the end of 2018, compared to 11,320 at the end of 2017.
  NYC’s public option health insurance plan also experienced a jump in
  membership on Staten Island by nearly 250% in one year. More than
  5,200 Staten Islanders chose MetroPlus as their preferred plan of
  choice by the end of 2018, compared to 1,500 at the end of 2017.
• Outreach campaign – MetroPlus launched this month its latest
  public awareness campaign, “Health Care is Your Right. Not a
  Privilege.” The campaign can be seen through the end of June on subway
  cars, bus shelters near NYC/Health + Hospitals locations, ethnic and
  community-based print media, and featured at other venues across New
  York City, including Brooklyn Cyclones games. The ads will be
  available in eight languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese,
  Bengali, Haitian Creole, Polish and Russian.

MetroPlus Health Plan options and benefits

MetroPlus offers eligible New Yorkers a wide selection of health
insurance options, with affordable fees and copays based on income and
family size. The most popular plans include:

• Medicaid – low or no cost plan for low income children and
  adults up to 64 years old
• Medicare – low or no cost plan for adults 65 years old and above
• Child Health Plus – low or no cost plan for children under 19
  regardless of immigration status
• Essential Plan – for adults 19-64 years old not eligible for
  Medicaid, offering monthly premiums of $0 – $20 based on income
• Qualified Health Plan – for eligible New York City residents,
  offering cost share reductions that lower significantly out of pocket
  costs
• Partnership in Care (HIV Special Needs Plan) – for children and
  adults who are New York City, Medicaid-eligible residents living with
  HIV/AIDS, or who are homeless or transgender
• MetroPlus Gold – for New York City employees and their
  families, with no premiums, no copays, no deductibles.

Special membership benefits include:

• Gym reimbursement – members of select plans and their spouses
  can save up to $1,000 in gym fees every year
• Member rewards program – members can earn points for completing
  health and wellness activities and redeem them for hundreds of popular
  items from the health plan’s catalogue.

Top Ranked Health Plan

MetroPlus earned an overall rating of five stars, the highest possible
score, in the New York State Department of Health’s recently
released “2018 Consumer’s Guide to Medicaid and Child Health Plus
Managed Care Plans in New York City.” The State’s guide is an annual
rating of managed care plans on quality of care delivered and members’
satisfaction with the care and services they receive. MetroPlus is one
of only two plans serving New York City to achieve the highest state
rating this year.

More About MetroPlus Health Plan

Since 1985, MetroPlus Health Plan has built a reputation for providing
access to affordable, quality health care to residents of Brooklyn, the
Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. A wholly-owned subsidiary of
NYC Health + Hospitals, the nation’s largest public health system,
MetroPlus is the plan of choice for over half a million New Yorkers. The
health plan’s robust network of primary care doctors and specialists
includes many independent community providers. Culturally sensitive, and
fluent in more than 40 languages, MetroPlus staff is as diverse as the
great city it serves. For more information about MetroPlus plans,
benefits, and services, visit www.metroplus.org
and join the conversation at facebook.com/metroplushealth and twitter
@metroplushealth.

Contacts

Kathryn Knox Soman
212-908-8588
somank@metroplus.org