Steven Violette
Raleigh,NC
Summary
High-achieving senior executive bringing expertise in business planning, revenue development and change management. Offers 18 years of leadership in healthcare industry along with entrepreneurial, forward-thinking mindset and demonstrated track record of accomplishment. Pragmatic professional with solid experience in leadership roles. Adept at implementing strategic business plans, driving growth and improving operations. Skilled in financial management and stakeholder relations. Collaborative and dedicated to building and leading talented and motivated individuals. Recognized as an expert in the design and administration of Medicare pharmacy benefits, with additional experience in both Medicaid and ACA qualified health plan management.
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Senior Vice President, Government Programs Operations
UnitedHealth Group, Optum Rx
02.2022 - Current
- Accountable for the successful administration of PBM services within all regulated markets, inclusive of Medicare, Medicaid and Individual Exchange clients, comprising more than 30 million lives.
- Acting Chief Operating Officer for Optum Insurance of Ohio, licensed administrator of the Optum Rx Employee Group Waiver Part D Product offering
- Senior Operations leader representing regulated markets within client and sales meetings
- Achieved year one performance targets to reduce operational defects and operating costs while improving overall employee engagement.
- Successfully launched new 2024 Medicare functionality to cap member cost share on insulin products and eligible vaccines associated with new requirements from the Inflation Reduction Act.
- Hired and managed employees to maximize productivity while training staff on best practices and protocols.
- Delivered exceptional customer service by implementing best practices and fostering a culture of accountability within the organization.
Chief Pharmacy Officer, Government Programs
UnitedHealth Group, UnitedHealthcare
07.2019 - 02.2022
- Led the development of formulary and clinical program strategy for the nation’s largest private Medicare plans, serving nearly million beneficiaries with over $50 billion in annual Part D drug expenditures.
- Successfully integrated clinical pharmacy functions across United’s Government Programs platform to provide shared clinical support for Medicare, Medicaid and Individual Exchange lines of business, aligning program strategies where appropriate, identifying synergies, sharing innovative practices to improve operational performance.
- Operated a combined clinical service model comprising formulary and trend management activities, drug pipeline oversight, clinical program development, clinical policy management, medical drug trend and clinical pharmacy operations.
- Successfully expanded management for medical drug utilization within Medicare, achieving over $300 million in program savings over 2 years.
Vice President, Population Health and Pharmacy Management
Bright Health Plan
01.2017 - 07.2019
- Responsible for delegated vendor relationships for both pharmacy and medical management, including but not limited to executing RFP’s, contracting, oversight and performance management.
- Accountable for the performance of core Population Health programs, irrespective of delegation model, including Case Management, Disease Management, Care Navigation, Medication Therapy Management and Utilization Management.
- Developed and launched a proprietary two-level authorization process, streamlining processes to preserve care within Bright’s network while reducing overall preauthorization turnaround times by 75%.
- Successfully developed and implemented Medicare compliant Utilization Management processes in under a year for both medical and pharmacy management in support of Bright’s Medicare expansion for 1/1/18.
- Held budgetary responsibilities for all clinical operations functions, including vendor expenses.
- Led cross-functional teams for the successful completion of major projects, resulting in increased efficiency and client satisfaction.
Interim Vice President of Health Plan Administrative Operations
Bright Health Plan
07.2018 - 01.2019
- Selected by Bright’s executive leadership team to serve as the interim leader for plan administrative functions, including eligibility, enrollment and claims administration for all lines of business.
- This role was additive to ongoing responsibilities within Population Health and Pharmacy Management.
- Led vendor oversight activities for all delegated administrative operations across all lines of business.
- Successfully led efforts to achieve operational readiness for 2019 open enrollment and benefit administration for the 2019 plan year across all lines of business.
- Developed processes to implement and maintain ongoing operational oversight reports, critical for the management of core business processes, including but not limited to auto-adjudication rates, claims aging and call center service levels.
Vice President, Clinical Products
UnitedHealth Group, Optum Rx
03.2016 - 01.2017
- Senior PBM leader with accountability for clinical product strategy and associated P&L Responsibilities, including the achievement of sales, performance and revenue targets
- Accountable for the development of a formulary product strategy to meet client needs and align with PBM business objectives.
- Responsible for all MTM service operations, including the OptumRx Clinical Call Center.
- Led efforts to integrate clinical programs across multiple platforms within a common proprietary system to reduce operating costs while expanding the range of services available to all Optum clients.
Vice President, Pharmacy Services
UnitedHealth Group, Optum Health
10.2014 - 03.2016
- Accountable for the design, delivery and performance of clinical pharmacy programs, delivered in conjunction with care management services for Medicare Advantage and SNP populations.
- Successfully launched two new medication therapy management (MTM) programs within 6 months, leading to an annual revenue increase of 180%.
- Implemented new operational processes targeting production inefficiencies that resulted in a 50% increase in individual productivity.
- Instituted a rigorous Quality Assurance process to measure and trend service delivery across individual clinicians, focusing on health literacy, clinical guidance and member experience.
Vice President, MAPD Pharmacy Product
UnitedHealth Group, UnitedHealthcare
01.2013 - 10.2014
- Pharmacy Product leader with responsibilities for Part D Plan design, formulary strategy and pharmacy performance management within UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans
- Served as a member of UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Stars team, with accountability for Part D clinical star rating performance, including medication adherence and high-risk medication management.
- Developed and launched a partnership with network pharmacies to incorporate clinical management practices at point of service for members with Part D gaps in care, successfully completing 130,000 interventions from August 2013 through December of 2013 and over 250,000 for the 2014 benefit year.
- Responsible for MTM program administration, increasing member participation from less than 5% in 2012, to 15% in 2013 and near 40% in 2014.
- Led the implementation of a preferred product strategy for diabetic testing supplies, resulting in over $100 Million in annual MAPD plan savings.
- Designed a provider scorecard for Medicare Part D quality measures, used to identify and communicate clinical pharmacy quality gaps to network providers.
Vice President, Part D Formulary Management
UnitedHealth Group, UnitedHealthcare
09.2008 - 01.2013
- Responsible for Part D formulary development and trend management activities for over 6 million Part D lives, accounting for $20 Billion in annual drug costs.
- Leader of a cross-functional committee charged with the development of appropriate Part D coverage and pharmaceutical contracting strategies
- Designed and managed the development of an analytic model, still in use, to determine the lowest net cost formulary management strategy with consideration to prescribing and formulary exception trends.
- Served as a subject matter expert on regulatory requirements related to Part D formulary administration.
- Served as United’s formulary lead during CMS audit activities.
- Directed a diverse staff of pharmacists and analysts charged with overseeing formulary administration and coverage determination activities.
- Designed and oversaw the implementation of algorithms, still in use, to validate the appropriate administration of pharmacy benefits for over 6 million Part D lives. (Project received an innovation award within UnitedHealthcare.)
Education
Master of Business Administration -
University of Rhode Island
08.2002
Doctor of Pharmacy -
University of Rhode Island
05.2001
Skills
- Strategic Leadership
- Analytical and Critical Thinker
- Medicare Expertise
- Population Health
- Product Development
- Product Management
- Vendor Contracting and Management
- KPI Tracking
- Operational Excellence
- Process Improvement
- Organizational Transformation
- Recruiting and Hiring
- Budgetary Accountability
- Team Engagement
- Project Leadership
- Client Engagement
Websites
Certification
- Connecticut, Registered Pharmacist, 9729
- Rhode Island, Registered Pharmacist, 04229
Recognitions And Assets
- Guest Lecturer – University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, Introduction to Medicare, 2019 – 2023
- Recipient of Bright Health Supernova award for exemplary performance, June 2017
- Recipient of UnitedHealthcare Innovation award, 2014
- Recipient of UnitedHealthcare Medicare Compliance award, Q3 2011
- Recipient of Roche Pharmacy Communications Award, May 2001
- Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite, including Access, Excel and PowerPoint
Timeline
Senior Vice President, Government Programs Operations
UnitedHealth Group, Optum Rx
02.2022 - Current
Chief Pharmacy Officer, Government Programs
UnitedHealth Group, UnitedHealthcare
07.2019 - 02.2022
Interim Vice President of Health Plan Administrative Operations
Bright Health Plan
07.2018 - 01.2019
Vice President, Population Health and Pharmacy Management
Bright Health Plan
01.2017 - 07.2019
Vice President, Clinical Products
UnitedHealth Group, Optum Rx
03.2016 - 01.2017
Vice President, Pharmacy Services
UnitedHealth Group, Optum Health
10.2014 - 03.2016
Vice President, MAPD Pharmacy Product
UnitedHealth Group, UnitedHealthcare
01.2013 - 10.2014
Vice President, Part D Formulary Management
UnitedHealth Group, UnitedHealthcare
09.2008 - 01.2013
Master of Business Administration -
University of Rhode Island
Doctor of Pharmacy -
University of Rhode Island
- Connecticut, Registered Pharmacist, 9729
- Rhode Island, Registered Pharmacist, 04229
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