John J. Kaelin has diverse executive-level experience in the health care industry spanning government, academia, U.S.-based health insurers, and health systems in the Middle East. He has held senior executive positions in three major health insurers (UnitedHealthcare, CareFirst, and currently Centene Corporation) and has worked closely with states and the federal government on the implementation of risk adjusted payments in publicly financed insurance programs, Medicaid financing, and state health reform initiatives. In addition, John has been focused on the intersection of health financing and public policy including extensive work with states on Medicaid and the coverage expansions under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In 2014, he spent the year living in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, where he served as a special adviser to the government on the implementation of a mandatory health insurance system.

From 1998 to 2003, Kaelin served as the executive director of a health policy and research institute at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, where he supported the state of Maryland’s policy development for health finance and public health, as well as research for the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Kaelin has held senior positions in New York State government in both the Budget Division and Health Department, where as director of Managed Care Financing, he led the team that developed the financing models for the state’s first Medicaid managed care waiver in 1997.

john.kaelin@rock.suny.edu