Market Medical Officer - Central

Healthcare moves: A monthly summary of hires, exits and layoffs. August has seen a slew of executive hires, exits and layoffs across the healthcare industry. For instance, Humana, Merck and Mayo Clinic named new executives. There were also layoffs at organizations including MaineHealth, Cellares and Sharp HealthCare. By Katie Adams on August 31, 2026 8:17 pm This roundup is published monthly. It is meant to highlight some of healthcare's recent hiring news and is not intended to be comprehensive. If you have news about an executive appointment, resignation or layoff that you would like to share for this roundup, please reach out to [email protected]. Hires and promotions Adonis, an AI startup tackling hospitals' denied and underpaid claims, hired Alison Bloom-Kiefer as its chief product officer and promoted Doug Pickett to chief revenue officer. Bloom-Kiefer comes to the organization from Oscar Health, where she served as vice president of provider experience strategy and innovation. Pickett joined Adonis in 2023 as director of strategic sales. Before that, he worked at Cedar as vice president of commercial strategy. presented by In an interview, Kyan Health Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer Konstantin Struck discussed how Kyan gives mid-market and enterprise employers access to premium workforce mental healthcare, at a price point that is affordable. North Carolina-based Cone Health named Ryan Christensen as chief value-based care officer. He comes to the organization from Intermountain Health, where he worked as enterprise vice president of operations for proactive care services. Humana welcomed J.P Holland as its new Medicaid president. He joins the organization from Johns Hopkins Health Plans, where he served as CEO. Prior to that, he was the CEO of Elevance Health's Alliance Business. Mayo Clinic appointed Arun Kumar Bhaskara-Baba as its new CIO. He comes to the health system from Honeywell Aerospace and Defense, where he held the same title. Bart Gourley joined Merck as the pharma giant's chief AI officer. In the past, he has held leadership roles at EY, Amazon and Accenture. presented by What if health plans could identify member decline before an avoidable hospitalization occurs? Real-time clinical visibility into long-stay SNF members uncovers risk earlier and drives better outcomes. Providence named Kevin Smith as its new CFO. He will join the organization in October after he departs his role as CFO of SSM Health. Care navigation company Quantum Health hired Jamie Hall as its chief commercial officer and Daniel Stein as its chief strategy officer. Hall joins Quantum through the company's acquisition of CirrusMD, and Stein joins through Quantum's purchase of Embold Health. Centene CFO Drew Asher is retiring at the end of the year. He has been in the role since 2021. Two of Tuft Medicine's top leaders - CEO Mike Dandorph and CFO Andrew Devoe - announced they're stepping down from their roles as the health system begins a major financial turnaround effort. Cell therapy manufacturing specialist Cellares plans to lay off about 100 employees after Bristol Myers Squibb terminated its manufacturing partnership, ending Cellares' role in producing the CAR-T therapy Breyanzi. The impacted workers are primarily software engineers, quality control and design staff, and manufacturing specialists. MaineHealth is cutting 83 positions in its information technology and analytics departments, consolidating three teams into one as part of a larger redesign. The reorganization eliminates 56 IT roles and 27 of the system's 63 analytics positions. Sharp HealthCare announced an organizational realignment affecting 260 employees, marking its second layoff wave in just over a year following last summer's elimination of 315 roles. The San Diego-based health system, which reported an operating loss of $173.5 million despite $5.5 billion in revenue, pointed to rising costs and federal and state policy changes as factors. Many of the affected workers were immediately offered alternative positions within the system.

Oscar Health reported second-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations, though the market reacted negatively. Revenue reached $4.88 billion, beating estimates of $4.74 billion and marking 70.4% year-over-year growth. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.10, significantly above the $0.38 estimate. CEO Mark Bertolini attributed the performance to disciplined pricing, technology-driven efficiencies, and strong execution in individual health insurance. Membership increased 46% year-over-year, whilst administrative cost ratios hit historic lows. Operating margin improved to 8%, up from negative 8% in the same quarter last year. Adjusted EBITDA of $415.3 million substantially exceeded the $170.9 million estimate. During the earnings call, analysts questioned management on outpatient utilisation trends, medical loss ratio guidance, and the potential impact of CMS eligibility reviews on member retention.

Wall Street analysts have issued bearish price targets for several stocks, signalling serious concerns about their prospects. StockStory conducted independent analysis to identify buying opportunities and companies to avoid. The firm recommends avoiding Envista Holdings, a global dental products company. Its revenue grew just 3.4% annually over five years, whilst earnings per share fell 7% annually. Negative returns on capital suggest growth strategies have backfired. StockStory also advises caution on OneMain Holdings, which provides personal loans to nonprime consumers. Despite 5.5% annual revenue growth over five years, earnings per share declined 9.3% annually. The firm identifies Oscar Health, a technology-focused health insurance company founded in 2012, as a potential buying opportunity despite Wall Street's pessimism.