By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com
Health equity leader Dr. Darrell Gray has been at the helm of Wellpoint, one of Maryland’s largest managed care plans for Medicaid insurance, for nearly a year now. The Maryland native was named CEO and president last August.
But, Gray’s interest in health care was sparked much earlier by his father who practiced internal medicine in Baltimore.
“I was just enamored by how he was able to impact people in times of wellness and when they were ill,” said Gray. “I saw the relationships he was able to establish and how he was able to influence the care of people at a time when people can be most vulnerable.”
As a young boy, Gray accompanied his father to his office and hospitals, observing his interactions with patients. This engendered a passion in Gray, which only grew when he was a biology student at Morehouse College and medical student at Howard University.
Through his studies, Gray’s passion made way for his purpose.
“I believe my purpose is to architect systems that advance whole health and health equity so that people can maximize the call or purpose in their lives,” said Gray. “I hope to achieve this by using my time, talents, treasures and influence to invest in people, relationships and community. That purpose has followed me throughout my career.”
Dr. Darwin Conwell, chairman of internal medicine at the University of Kentucky, recruited Gray while leading Ohio State University’s Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. Gray was just finishing up his master’s in public health at Harvard University.
“He was well-trained and well-spoken,” said Gray. “I thought he could really help us in our inner-city hospital that serves a very marginalized population that suffers from a lot of the social determinants of health that impact health care delivery.”
Conwell said Gray instantly became involved in a local initiative promoting wellness for Black men.
“Several days before he started his job and since that time opportunities have skyrocketed for him. He exceeded everything I could do for him, and he’s taken it to another level,” said Conwell. “He just makes me proud.”
Before taking up the Wellpoint post, Gray served its parent company, Elevance Health, as the first chief health equity officer. His draw to the field rested in his desire to address social determinants of health, many of which put his patients in the hospital in the first place.
He also wanted to have a broader impact on whole populations rather than individual patients. Early in his role, Gray made it clear that advancing health equity was everyone’s responsibility.
“If they looked to me, as the inaugural chief health equity officer, to be the only one driving toward achieving that goal, we wouldn’t have been successful,” said Gray. “Advancing whole health and health equity is part of our culture. It’s a part of business planning, and it cuts across our values, priorities and the outcomes we hope to achieve. I played a part in that.”
Gray was initially unsure if he should take on the new position at Wellpoint when the opportunity came about. He was happy with his work in health equity, and he didn’t want to abandon the young team he planned to develop into leaders.
But, he had faith that the timing was right.
“Being able to be home in Maryland and focus on Medicaid recipients who are in my church, grocery store, neighborhood and go to school with my kids was a thrilling opportunity,” said Gray. “I couldn’t pass it up.”
Wellpoint is the second largest Medicaid managed care organization (MCO) in Maryland. It serves more than 300,000 members across the state, many of whom are mothers, children and people with disabilities.
In the role, Gray oversees operations, finances, quality assurance, community engagement and clinical execution. One of his top priorities is improving partnerships with health care providers across the state to deliver the best quality of care and outcomes to Wellpoint’s members.
Under his leadership, the health plan earned the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Health Equity Accreditation Plus. This achievement made Wellpoint the only MCO in Maryland to have both a Health Equity Accreditation and Health Equity Accreditation Plus from NCQA.
He has also set goals around reducing inequities in maternal health, expanding the organization’s health care provider network and meeting members in the community to address health issues.
“As a Black male in leadership, there is a tremendous weight on me,” said Gray. “There’s also a tremendous opportunity to create change that really reduces the inequities that are faced within not just the Black population, but many populations that have been disenfranchised, minoritized and disconnected from healthcare.”
The post Meet the Black man behind Wellpoint, one of Maryland’s largest Medicaid managed care organizations appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.
