Jeff joined Revel in early 2017 to define and lead the next strategic leap of the company. An experienced, innovation-centric CEO, Jeff leverages experience in health care and financial services technology to help the company meet the market where it is and where it is likely to be.
Jeff is credited with several growth technology successes including the foundation of Storyworks (now Insite Software) and Evolution (now WEX Health), one of the first and most successful organizations to introduce consumer-driven healthcare account technology based on a software-as-a-service model.
Jeff is passionate about customer experience methodologies, XaaS, population health initiatives, and modern software technologies.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Management from Drake University.
A Minnesota native and Eagle Scout, Jeff and his family are enthusiastic about connecting with nature, outdoor sports, travel and great food.
Tell us about your company
Revel has been around in one form or another since 2006. I joined the company in 2017 to define and lead a strategic leap toward creating health action programs that use advanced analytics and AI to move people to do things that are good for them. Today, Revel is one of the largest companies in our space and certainly the leader of health risk assessments for Medicare and Medicaid.
What problem are you solving for with the company?
Most traditional payer outreach programs have been “one size fits all” with poor results. Revel helps plans and providers move beyond traditional “member engagement” and employ new technology as well as behavioral science to motivate people to take action. The healthcare industry is changing its focus from one that simply cures sickness to one that focuses on the lifetime spectrum of health. The Revel platform, as well as the services we provide, drive extraordinarily personalized outreach that leads to more action, whether it’s completing a health assessment or getting more people to schedule screenings like mammograms and colonoscopies.
What is the definition of value in healthcare today and what should it be? Does that make your work harder or easier?
We really need to start building a better cost curve in our industry, one that focuses on the full healthcare spectrum, rather than only curing illness. The more data we gather, the more we’re seeing the value of programs driven by the CMS and the ACA. It’s not just about compliance – the information shows enormous cost savings from many new initiatives, particularly those within ACOs where shared data is helping drive a more personalized outreach. Not to mention the fact that driven to healthier action, people of course will be healthier and happier in the long run which is our true end goal.
What’s the biggest “blind spot” in healthcare today?
The fact that we’ve gathered all this data from CMS programs and we’re doing so little with it. Certain programs, like the new CMS Blue Button initiative, or the recent Medica-Mayo partnership, are beginning to take advantage of the enormous power of shared data, but it’s not nearly enough. We can drive so much more healthy action by created a 360-degree view of each individual’s health and creating programs to help them stay healthy. We have the data and we have the technology to do this – we just need more initiatives that are driven and supported from the top down.
Why is a presence in Minnesota, known as Medical Alley, critical to your company?
We’re seeing an alignment of business strategy within healthcare between entities like medical device companies, plans, providers, and others that have been typically siloed. There are certainly quite a few things we are learning from the medical device industry, and, in turn, the medical device players are learning from our corner of the industry, particularly as they begin to move further toward value-based pricing. As the broader healthcare industry, we need to become better at sharing data, rather than viewing data as a competitive edge. Medical Alley provides an excellent venue to do just that.
What is the one thing, other than time or money, you wish you had more of?
A cleaner environment.
Join The Conversation Around Transforming Healthcare
Join Medical Alley on June 24th for the first in a two-part series, “Leading the Conversation: Where are the “New and Improved’ Outcomes in Healthcare? The half-day leadership forum will bring together payors, providers, and technology leaders to discuss real-world examples of the transformed healthcare business model, illuminating the challenges to further change and the problems that remain.
