Press Release  Governor Healey Appoints Six Commissioners to Restructured Health Policy Commission

Boston — Governor Maura Healey today appointed Sandra Cotterell, Christopher Leibman, Umesh Kurpad and Steve Walsh to the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC) and reappointed Deborah Devaux, who will continue to serve as Chair, and Jamie Willmuth. The HPC is an independent state agency that works to improve health care affordability for all residents in Massachusetts. Renato Mastrogiovanni, Dr. Matilde Castiel, Patricia Houpt and Karen Coughlin have completed their tenures on the HPC. Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Kiame Mahaniah and Commissioner of the Department of Insurance Michael Caljouw are also ex-officio Commissioners.   

“The Health Policy Commission plays a critical role in making health care more affordable and ensuring the people of Massachusetts receive the highest quality care possible,” said Governor Healey. “I’m grateful to the Legislature for their efforts to restructure the HPC to increase its authority to rein in costs and ensure accountability in the health care system. I know these health care leaders who I am appointing today have the right expertise to lead this work, make sure Massachusetts remains the best state for health care, and deliver for the people of Massachusetts.” 

“Our residents deserve access to high-quality and affordable health care across the state, and I am excited to see these leaders join the HPC to take on a critical role in driving this work,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “I also want to thank the outgoing Commissioners for their years of service on the HPC and their contributions to our world-renowned health care system.”  

“The reforms that were made to the structure of the Health Policy Commission last session were designed to ensure that every sector of the health care industry would be represented on the board, a prerequisite for establishing a multifaceted approach to reducing health care cost growth for our residents,” said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano (D-Quincy). “The appointments that are being announced today will help to ensure that industry leaders, across  each sector of the Commonwealth’s health care system, will have their voices heard, united by the common goal of delivering quality, affordable health care to every Massachusetts resident. I want to thank Governor Healey, our partners in the Senate, and the members of the HPC board for their shared commitment to delivering results for the people that we serve.” 

The announcement of the Governor’s appointments to the HPC marks a pivotal moment for health care policy and oversight in Massachusetts, with the beginning of the next chapter for the HPC and the state’s cost containment efforts. Last year, Governor Healey signed the An Act to Enhancing the Market Review Process that restructured the HPC, granting the Governor the authority to appoint six commissioners, including two nominated by the Speaker and Senate President. The law also expands the scope of data collection and public review of health care and health care transactions by the HPC and the Center for Health Analysis and Information (CHIA), with the goal of increasing visibility and accountability for transactions involving private owners of health care resources. As designated under the law, each appointed member has demonstrated expertise in a particular aspect of health care policy, including health care management, delivery, finance, workforce, innovation, behavioral health, economics, or consumer advocacy.  

About the Commissioners 

Deborah Devaux, Chair, expertise in health care administration, finance and management at a senior level: 

Deborah Devaux is the current chair of the Health Policy Commission, with over 40 years of health care management experience with health insurers and providers in Massachusetts. Most recently, she served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Population Health Officer at Beth Israel Lahey Health where she was responsible for payor relationships and the system’s unified performance network of physicians and hospitals to advance new models of care. Previously, she was the Chief Operating Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts, the largest insurer in the state and one of the largest non-profit Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in the country. In this role, she was responsible for divisions such as Performance and Improvement Management, IT, and Member Services. She previously served as an Adjunct faculty member at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and as a guest lecturer at Suffolk University, Boston University Graduate School of Management, and Harvard Business School. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Western Michigan University and a Master of Healthcare Administration from the University of Michigan.   

Sandra Cotterell, Commissioner, expertise in the delivery of care and development and utilization of innovative treatments in the practice of patient care: 

Sandra Cotterell served as the CEO of the Codman Square Health Center and retired in 2024. She first came to work at Codman as the Chief operations Officer in 1994 and stepped into the CEO role in 2011. With a background in cardiothoracic nursing, Cotterell brought deep clinical insight to her leadership, helping to guide Codman’s transformation into one of Boston’s most innovative and community-centered health centers. Ms. Cotterell currently serves on the Boston Medical Center Board of Directors, Massachusetts League of Community Health Center Board of Directors, Healthworks Community Fitness Board of Directors, Daily Table Community Advisory Board, Greater Four Corners Action Coalition Board of Directors, Neighborhood Health Plan Advisory Committee, BMC HealthNet Board, the Codman Academy Charter School Board of Directors, and is the President of the Boston Accountable Care Organization Board of Directors. She also serves as a Contributing Faculty member at the Kraft Center for Community Health and is a guest lecturer at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Brandeis University Heller School for Social Policy and Management. A lifelong Boston resident, Cotterell started her career as a cardiothoracic nurse. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Simmons College. 

Christopher Leibman, Commissioner, expertise in health care innovation, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology or medical devices: 

Chris Leibman is the Senior Vice President and Chief Access Head at Biogen, where he leads the global value demonstration, patient access and pricing strategy development and execution across the Biogen portfolio. He also oversees the Public Policy and Government Affairs organization. Prior to this role, Mr. Leibman led market Access and pricing at Biogen for Europe and Canada based in Switzerland. Mr. Leibman joined Biogen in 2014 from Janssen Pharmaceuticals (J&J), where he served as head of Market. Mr. Leibman has published and presented extensively on the benefits and costs of innovation in treating disease, value frameworks in healthcare, and sustainable pricing in drug development. He brings two and half decades of diverse experiences in biopharmaceutical development, value demonstration, access, and working across public-private partnerships. Mr. Leibman holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also completed a post-doc fellowship in health economics with Glaxo Wellcome and earned a Master of Science degree with focus in Pharmacoeconomics and Health Policy from the Ohio State University. 
 

Umesh Kurpad, Commissioner, expertise in health plan administration and finance: 

Umesh Kurpad is the former Chief Financial Officer of Point32Health, a leading nonprofit health and well-being organization that strives to deliver a better health care experience to the communities they serve. He was instrumental in the work leading to the combination and post-combination integration. Prior to that, he guided Tufts Health Plan through a period where it doubled in size while maintaining its financial strength. Mr. Kurpad holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Delhi, India and a Master in Business Administration from the University of Florida.   

Steven Walsh, Commissioner, expertise in representing hospitals or hospital health systems: 

Steven Walsh is the President and CEO of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association. He oversees MHA’s work for a more accessible, equitable and coordinated health care system for patients on behalf of their 70-plus hospital and health system members. Mr. Walsh previously served as the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Council of Community Hospitals, where he led innovative change in care delivery, policy and regulation to meet the unique needs of community hospitals across the state. During his time at MHA, Mr. Walsh served as a central coordinator in the healthcare community’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, championed passage of a historic Medicaid waiver to accelerate health equity and care quality in Massachusetts hospitals and led the system’s efforts to support and advance the healthcare workforce. He is a member of the American College of Health Care Executives. Mr. Walsh is a graduate of Wesleyan University, the New England School of Law, and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.   

Jamie Willmuth, Commissioner, expertise in representing the health care workforce as a leader in a labor organization: 

Jamie Willmuth is the Senior Policy Analyst for the Massachusetts Division of 1199 SEIU and currently serves on the Health Policy Commission. With over 450,000 members throughout Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Florida and Washington, D.C., 1199SEIU is the largest health care union in the nation. Since January 2008, Jamie has led on policy creation and development of the union’s legislative and state budget agenda related to health care reform, provider reimbursement and other areas of importance to the 1199SEIU membership. Mr. Willmuth holds a Bachelor of Arts from Bowdoin College and a Juris Doctorate from Cornell University. 

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