Board names four finalists for insurance-exchange chief

The competition for the executive director position with the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace was whittled down to four finalists - out of 39 applicants - Saturday, but only three have experience in state health-insurance exchanges.

The organization’s board of directors reviewed the applications during its weekend meeting in Arkadelphia, board member Fred Bean said.

Of those selected to be interviewed for the position, three are from Tennessee and one hails from Utah. All have experience in the private sector.

The four finalists are:

Sharon Barnett-Myers, anexecutive with United Bio-Science Corp. who was a deputy director with Mississippi’s Medicaid program.

George Brandes, director of health-care programs for Jackson Hewitt who has worked in the Tennessee Insurance Exchange.

Alonzo Pendelton, who has spent all of his career working within private insurance organizations, but who also has experience working with Medicaid.

Cheryl Smith, a consultant who was director of policy and strategy for Utah’s health-insurance exchange for about two years.

The board of directors - each of whom compiled a list of preferred candidates from the applicants - spent more than an hour in executive session Saturday narrowing the candidate list to the four contenders, Bean said.

Management and leadership experience, understanding of insurance and exchanges, involvement in public and private sector, and entrepreneurial skills were some of the qualities that distinguished the four candidates from the other applicants, Bean said.

“You’ve got to have someone who has the skills to be innovative,” Bean said.

The board will meet at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, and Bean said some of the candidates may be interviewed at that time. The four finalists will be contacted Monday to determine when theywill be available for interviews.

The process may require multiple rounds until the final choice is made, Bean said. It is possible that applicants not included in the most recent round may be called for interviews if the existing finalists withdraw their applications, accept other jobs or do not meet the requirements the board has for an executive director, Bean added.