meet our SPEAKERs
Alden Bianchi, Esq.
Counsel
McDermott, Will & Schulte
Alden Bianchi is an experienced employee benefits and executive compensation lawyer who advises corporate, not-for-profit, governmental and individual clients on a broad range of executive compensation and employee benefits matters, including health and welfare plans as well as qualified and non-qualified retirement plans. He represented the Romney Administration in the historic 2006 health care reform act in Massachusetts, which served as a model for other states, and he testified before the Senate Finance Committee in the lead-up to the Affordable Care Act. Bianchi is a past chair of the Bloomberg Tax Compensation Planning Journal Advisory Board, and he was awarded the 2023 Bloomberg Tax Leonard L. Silverstein Award for Distinguished Service in Tax.
François de Brantes
Principal
XO Health, Inc.
François de Brantes is leading XO Health's design and operational implementation of alternative payment models as well as the ongoing performance of the network. Throughout his career, François has led innovation and plan design for all aspects of advanced alternative payment models, from basic incentives design to contract structure to operational implementation. He actively supported the launch of the Leapfrog Group; created Bridges To Excellence; led the development and implementation of PROMETHEUS Payment; led the development and design of a value-based insurance design product; and applied that expertise to designing and implementing episodes of care and other advanced alternative payment programs for employers, providers, and health plans. He is also a senior partner at High Value Care Incentives Advisory Group, at the forefront of transparency and payment innovation. He previously led the commercial business line development of Signify Health's Episodes of Care Payment Division and was also head of strategic initiatives for GE Corporate Healthcare for over a decade.
Andrew Bremberg
Former Director of the Domestic Policy Counsel
Trump Administration 2016 to 2020
Andrew Bremberg is an attorney and political advisor who most recently served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva. He previously served as Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council under President Donald Trump. Bremberg began his career at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he served as Senior Advisor and Chief of Staff to the Assistant Secretary for Public Health during the George W. Bush Administration. He later worked as a department manager and health policy expert at MITRE, advising multiple federal agencies. Bremberg has also served as policy advisor and counsel to Senator Mitch McConnell and as policy director for Governor Scott Walker's 2016 presidential campaign and the GOP Platform Committee. Following the 2016 election, he led President-elect Trump's transition team for Health and Human Services and co-chaired the National Council for the American Worker. In 2019, he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, where he presented his credentials later that year.
Lisa Campbell, Esq.
Partner
Groom Law Group
Lisa Campbell is co-chair of Groom Law Group's Health Services group. She advises clients on all aspects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including the insurance market reforms, qualified health plan standards, exchange rules, consumer assistance programs for the federal marketplace, and ACA section 1557 nondiscrimination rules.
Lisa also works with clients on the Federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), state insurance law, and Medicare and Medicaid. She represents health insurance companies, employers, consultants, and trade associations on federal and state laws regulating health coverage. She also provides advice on advocacy with federal and state agencies, compliance programs, government enforcement, and regulatory initiatives.
Lisa is the former Director of the Compliance and Enforcement Division for the Oversight Group at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) at the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), and immediately prior to joining Groom, she was the Group Director for the Consumer Support Group at CCIIO. In her positions at HHS, Lisa worked closely with all key stakeholders, including health insurance companies, state insurance regulators, the Departments of Labor and the Treasury, trade associations, and consumer groups.
As Director of the Compliance and Enforcement Division, Lisa managed the team responsible for compliance and enforcement of private health insurance coverage. Lisa directed the implementation of the enforcement program for the ACA market reform provisions, led work related to implementing program and policy initiatives for the requirements of the ACA and other federal requirements, and provided technical assistance to states, health insurance companies, trade associations, and consumer groups on the ACA. As Group Director of the Consumer Support Group, Lisa was responsible for implementing consumer assistance programs for the federal Marketplace, including the Navigator, non-Navigator enrollment assistance personnel, and Certified Application Counselor programs, casework, and reporting of plan data. She was responsible for coordinating on the policy and implementation of the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) and Internal Appeal and External Review requirements.
Lisa speaks and writes regularly on MHPAEA and the ACA, including presentations relating to health care reform, enforcement and the ACA section 1557 nondiscrimination requirements from the perspective of health insurers and employer plan sponsors.
David Cardelle, R.Ph.
Chief Strategy Officer
Advanced Medical Strategies (AMS)
Dave Cardelle, R.Ph. is Chief Strategy Officer at AMS, where he leads national efforts to modernize healthcare payment integrity through data science and automation. With over 25 years in provider, payer, and audit innovation roles, Dave has driven over $3B in aggregate recoveries and savings. A licensed pharmacist with a BS from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, he brings deep healthcare domain expertise to policy-aligned solutions. Dave chairs the Healthcare Payment and Revenue Integrity Congress (HRPI) and serves on the Self-Insured Institute of America (SIIA) Price Transparency Committee. Dave is considered a leading expert on Price Transparency and is currently working with CMS to help improve hospital and healthcare reporting compliance.
Stephen Carrabba
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
ClaimInformatics
Stephen Carrabba is the President and Co-Founder of ClaimInformatics. He provides hands-on management oversight of key aspects of the business including ensuring the business is run on a state-of-the-art, highly secure technology platform, hiring and retaining industry experts, fostering strategic partnerships, and developing a forward-looking vision and strategy.
With his training and inquisitive nature, Stephen researches the most up-to-date technologies and looks to drive the business toward early adoption whenever appropriate to improve efficiencies and establish a competitive edge. Stephen’s business success is inextricably linked with his ability to foster business relationships, earning the trust of clients and partners.
Prior to ClaimInformatics, Stephen founded several successful companies, including a nationally recognized cost reduction consultancy focused on taking the wasteful spending out of healthcare. With Stephen’s expertise in controlling expenses and maximizing profits, his clients benefit from technology-driven, personable service.
Stephen is a graduate of Babson College and is a member of several for-profits and non-profit boards. He was recognized by the Hartford Business Journal as a Forty under 40 Recipient because of his entrepreneurial accomplishments. Stephen lives in Connecticut with his wife and three children.
Matt Collier
Senior Consultant, Pharmacy Benefit & Self-Funded Strategy
IMA Financial Group, Inc.
Matt Collier is a Senior Consultant at IMA Financial Group where he specializes in pharmacy benefit strategy and self-funded health plan solutions. With a deep understanding of employer-sponsored benefits and the evolving healthcare landscape, Matt partners with organizations to design cost-effective, innovative benefit programs that align with broader business goals. Prior to his current role, he built experience in the consulting and employee-benefits space, consistently translating complex data and market trends into actionable plan design and vendor-management strategies. A strong communicator who thrives on collaboration, Matt regularly presents insights on topics such as the impact of GLP-1 therapies and emerging benefit drivers. His dedication to creating sustainable, high-value benefits programs has earned him a reputation as a trusted advisor for HR leaders and decision makers. Matt holds a degree from the University of Colorado Denver and is based in Englewood, Colorado.
Chris Condeluci, Esq.
Washington Counsel
SIIA
Christopher E. Condeluci is Washington Counsel for the Self-Insurance Institute of America (SIIA). Chris previously served as Tax and Benefits Counsel to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. During his time on the Finance Committee, Chris participated in the development of portions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including the new health insurance Exchanges, the State insurance reforms, and the new taxes enacted under the law. He is one of the few senior Congressional staffers who actively participated in the health reform debate to join the private sector since the law's enactment, and as a result, he possesses a unique level of expertise on matters relating to tax law, ERISA, and the ACA.
Jennifer Cordes
Assistant General Counsel
AMWINS
Jenn Cordes is an employee benefits and health insurance attorney with Amwins Group, Inc., a wholesale brokerage company. Prior to joining Amwins, she was a Senior Principal at Mercer Health & Benefits for more than a decade. Throughout her career, Jenn has focused on providing legal advice around the complexities of employer-sponsored health plans and has consulted for some of the nation’s largest employers on health plan design. When she's not working, she enjoys cheering on her favorite sports teams, reading and spending time with her family who also relocated to Middle Tennessee.
Cameron Deml
Vice President, Strategic & Federal Relationships
Brown & Brown
Cameron Deml is Vice President of Strategic and Federal Relationships at Brown & Brown, where he focuses on building and managing strategic business relationships across public- and private-sector clients. He regularly presents on employee benefits, wellness strategy and risk-management topics at industry conferences, and has been a featured speaker for organizations such as the Self-Insurance Institute of America and the Midwest Business Group on Health. Cameron is based in the Twin Cities area and brings practical experience partnering with employers and associations to design benefits programs that align with organizational objectives.
Mike Ferguson
President & Chief Executive Officer
SIIA
Mike Ferguson serves as president & CEO of the Self-Insurance Institute of America (SIIA), providing executive management leadership as well as serving as a federal lobbyist. Mr. Ferguson has been with the association for more than 25 years. He has significant expertise in self-insurance matters related to group health plans, workers' compensation programs, and captive insurance companies. Prior to joining SIIA, he was a corporate communications specialist for Rockwell International at the company's world headquarters. Mr. Ferguson earned a bachelor's degree in political science from California State University, Long Beach.
Ed Hausman
Chief Product Officer
Deerhold, Ltd.
Ed has spent his career at the intersection of healthcare and technology, providing product vision and strategy for healthcare startups. In his most recent role as vice president of product and business development and InformedDNA, he guided the development of tech solutions designed to help healthcare stakeholders utilize genomic insights to improve patient outcomes. He previously served as vice president of product at Deerwalk, Inc., where he built an industry-leading analytics engine. Deerwalk was acquired by Cedargate Technologies in December 2020. Ed earned his bachelor's degree in anthropology and linguistics from the University of Chicago and has lived abroad in Nepal teaching English.
Taylor Hittle
Senior Manager, Washington Counsel
Ernst & Young LLP (EY)
Taylor Hittle is a Senior Manager in EY's Washington Council Practice. Taylor specializes in health and retirement policy and advises key leaders who shape health, retirement, and employee benefits across the nation. Taylor holds invaluable experience advising senior HHS leadership, such as HHS Secretary Azar, during the COVID-19 response under the Trump administration. She has also created and shaped critical transparency policy under the Employee Retirement and Income Security Act (ERISA) and holds deep relationships with Congressional leadership, Committee staff, Members of Congress, and staff within HHS and DOL.
Taylor has over 13 years of experience working in the federal government, and most recently served as chief health council for the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, where she advised Chairwoman Foxx and Committee Members on health care and retirement issues under the Committee’s jurisdiction. Taylor served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Legislation at the HHS, where she acted as liaison between congressional leadership and senior HHS leaders. She previously served as Chief of Staff to the HHS Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources at the Department and oversaw the production of the Department’s annual budget. Taylor served as Legislative Director to Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, where she led the Congressman’s healthcare initiatives, including the House Innovation Caucus, efforts to reform IHS, legislation to reform 42 CFR Part 2, legislation to improve mental health services, and efforts to lower prescription drug prices. Taylor also worked for Reps. Mimi Walters (R-CA), John Carter (R-TX), Michael Burgess (R-TX), and Ted Poe (R-TX). Taylor earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Taylor, her husband Matt, and three children live in Alexandria, VA.
Deep Kapur
Co-Founder
Amera Health Solutions
Deep Kapur is the co-founder of Amera Health, a company transforming health plan administration through automation and data-driven solutions. With extensive experience in health insurance operations and technology, he focuses on streamlining claims processing, enhancing stop-loss reporting, and improving efficiency for plan administrators and self-funded employers. Deep’s leadership reflects a commitment to reducing administrative complexity and fostering greater transparency across the healthcare ecosystem. Through Amera Health, he continues to innovate at the intersection of healthcare and technology, helping organizations modernize their operations and deliver better outcomes for their members.
Mairin Mancino
Senior Advisory for Policy
Peterson Center on Healthcare
Mairin Mancino is the Senior Advisor for Policy at the Peterson Center on Healthcare, a non-profit organization dedicated to making higher quality, more affordable health care a reality for Americans. She is a health policy expert commited to improving our healthcare system by seeding change through regulatory and legislative action. Prior to Peterson, Mairin held leadership roles in healthcare research and consulting at NORC at the University of Chicago and Avalere Health. While at NORC and Avalere, she led teams of staff working to deliver compelling research, policy collateral and strategic advice to health plans, provider organizations, pharmacy benefit managers, health IT companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, philanthropies, health care trade associations and healthcare investors. Her work has spanned timely topic areas such as understanding health disparities in employer-sponsored coverage, studying the care navigation experiences of high-need commercially insured patient populations, interpreting the potential paths of federal and state price transparency efforts, and helping companies prepare for commercial insurance market changes stemming from the Affordable Care Act. Mairin was also the System Director for Policy and Advocacy at Summa Health, an integrated health care delivery system in Akron, Ohio with inpatient, outpatient, ambulatory and post-acute care settings, along with a health plan, an employed physician group and an Accountable Care Organization (ACO). Her portfolio at Summa covered local, state and federal regulatory and legislative policy. Prior to specializing in healthcare, she worked to interpret federal legislative and regulatory happenings for the investment community at FBR Capital Markets (now B. Riley) and at Washington Analysis. Mairin graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College.
Cheryl Matochik
Managing Director
Third Horizon
Cheryl is a strategic growth leader and consultant pushing boundaries to fuel innovation in health care payment and incentive design. Cheryl has over 20 years’ experience working across the employee benefits market and federal policy level to improve employer-based health care. As Chief Growth Officer at Third Horizon (TH), Cheryl drives the development and execution of the firm’s growth strategy, leveraging market insights, partnerships, and cutting-edge analytics to cultivate business opportunities that align with the firm’s mission and vision. She also plays a key role in nurturing relationships with clients to ensure satisfaction and identify and develop new offerings. Prior to joining Third Horizon, Cheryl served as Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers where she led the association’s strategic development work to build and implement novel products, services, and programs for the senior leadership teams at insurance and risk management firms across the U.S. and abroad. Cheryl holds a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from West Virginia University’s Reed College of Media.
Steve Miller
SVP, Client Executive - Employee Benefits
Kapnick Insurance
Steve Miller is a Client Executive with Kapnick Insurance Group, where he leverages his extensive experience in the insurance and benefits industry to help employers design strategic, sustainable employee benefits programs. Based in western Michigan, Steve is recognized for his consultative leadership style and his dedication to building lasting client relationships. Throughout his career, he has focused on innovative benefits solutions that empower organizations to attract and retain top talent. At Kapnick, Steve aligns with the firm’s culture of excellence, community values, and commitment to forward-thinking, client-focused service.
Anthony Murrello
Government Relations Manager
SIIA
Anthony currently serves as the Government Relations Manager for the Self-Insurance Institute of America (SIIA) where he assists in advocacy and political activities. His other roles include tracking state legislative and regulatory policy, as well as managing The Self-Insurance Political Action Committee (SIPAC). Anthony graduated from American University in 2020. His previous work experience includes working for Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (NJ) and was most recently a legal clerk for the City Attorney of Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Hugh O'Toole
Chief Executive Officer
Innovu
As Chief Executive Officer of Innovu, Hugh O’Toole is changing advisor/consultant practice models from their siloed focus on Health & Welfare, Retirement and Property & Casualty, to a holistic Human Capital Risk Management model. He understands that the world of retirement services and benefits can be complicated and has dedicated his career to aligning the financial wellness of American employees with the positive impact their wellness has on the financial statement of their employers. With leading capabilities in data aggregation, data science/analytics and behavioral finance, the industry can have a much greater impact with the convergence of data and benefit disciplines versus a siloed view. In 2014, he founded Viability AG LLC, to address the relationship between financially well employees and the impact on the employer’s financial statement, through mitigating the future liability from healthcare, risk protection/management, productivity, and engagement of their employees. In 2015, Viability was purchased by MassMutual, and he joined the MassMutual team as a Senior Vice President. His first mission was to bring non-profit employers and their employees institutional investment product, versus the legacy insurance products historically sold to them. As a partner of Professional Pensions, Inc. they accomplished this mission, and the firm grew rapidly.
Matt Robben
Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer
Serif Health
Matt is an experienced, hands-on healthcare engineering leader. Prior to Serif Health, Matt led the clinical software engineering team at One Medical, where his team built clinical referrals, orders, and electronic prescription management capabilities into the in-house EHR. His team obtained EPCS and SureScripts certifications for the platform. Matt has also led various product and infrastructure engineering teams at Truepic (Series B led by Microsoft), Dropbox, and Microsoft. Matt obtained his BS in Computer Engineering cum laude from Northwestern University.
Julie Selesnick, Esq.
Founder & Principal
Health Plan Legal Counsel
Julie Selesnick has been practicing law since 2001, during which time she has amassed a wealth of experience in high-stakes dispute resolution, representing clients on both sides of the aisle, from major corporations to small businesses, labor unions, individuals, and class plaintiffs. Julie has led jury and bench trials as first chair, helping clients recover more than $91 million through settlements and verdicts.
The passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (“CAA”) had a profound effect on health plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) and governmental health plans operated by municipalities, counties, school boards and states. Responding to this sea change in the health plan statutory environment, Julie expanded her law practice to provide legal and compliance counsel to plan sponsors and fiduciaries, Taft-Hartley trustees and coalitions, and vendors servicing group health plans. Julie founded and is the Principal Attorney at Health Plan Legal Counsel PLLC in 2025, helping plan and vendor clients come up with innovative solutions to complex problems in a proactive manner. As not all problems can be solved without legal action, Julie also remains Of Counsel to Berger Montague, partnering with them to develop class action litigation on behalf of health plans, health plan participants and beneficiaries, and health plan vendors against large carriers, PBMs and other entrenched large entities in the employer-sponsored health plan space.
Ria Shah
Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer
Handl Health
Ria holds a degree in Analytics & Finance from Wharton. Prior to founding Handl Health, Ria was a strategy consultant for EY-Parthenon, specializing in developing data strategy for health systems and payors. Her career took her to EY-Parthenon Berlin, where she focused on using public and proprietary data to create value and outcomes-based contracts for public payors and big pharma.
Sidhartha Sinha
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Avant Health
Sidhartha (Sid) Sinha is the founder and CEO of Avant Health, an AI-native TPA. He has built and led product and implementation teams at multiple venture-backed health tech startups building data and AI products for top healthcare systems and insurers. Prior to that, Sid designed hospitals, clinics, and care delivery models across the US and Mexico at Vizient, a national healthcare analytics and services firm. He is an industrial engineer with a focus on complex systems design in healthcare.
Jordan Smith
Chief Compliance Officer
Self Insured Reporting
Jordan Smith is the Chief Compliance Officer at Healthcare Reporting & Self Insured Reporting, as well as the Practice Leader of their mental health parity division: NQTL Analysis Service. Jordan possesses a wide variety of leadership experience, most recently in the legal sector as the Chief Operating Officer of a large, regional insurance defense firm in the Southeast. Jordan was also the inaugural COO and Principal ACA Consultant at Sky Insurance Technologies (ACAreportingservice.com), where he assisted in growing the company to nearly a thousand clients in its first year. Residing in Greenville, SC, Jordan frequently consults on mental health parity in self-insured health plans and serves on the Board of Directors for Gateway House, a non-profit working to advance mental health and serve those living with severe mental illness. He is a leading voice on regulatory reporting compliance and has assisted dozens of employers, TPAs, and attorneys in responding to DOL investigations, as well as IRS inquiries and ACA penalty assessments. Jordan has a passion for business and is a Partner in several organizations, including Healthcare Reporting and Self Insured Reporting.
