Former Premera Blue Cross Executive Ken Chandler Named CEO of Opala

Chandler to Lead Healthcare Interoperability Company to Drive Seamless Collaboration Between Payers and Providers and Optimize the Patient Experience

SEATTLE, June 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Opala, a healthcare interoperability partner, today announced that Ken Chandler, former senior vice president of National Accounts for Premera Blue Cross, will join the company as CEO effective July 1, 2022. Having spent more than 30 years in the healthcare sector, Chandler brings unique experience and expertise about the needs of carriers and national employers that will be vital as Opala grows and expands its healthcare data exchange solutions.

"I've seen first-hand the challenges that payers and providers have in accessing all of the information they need to deliver the best possible care to patients," said Chandler. "Opala is developing the connections the healthcare industry needs for a successful evolution to value-based care. Their solutions give payers and providers access to wide-ranging health data within their normal workflow, eliminating the administrative burdens that take time away from the patient. I'm joining the team because of the potential Opala has to make fundamental changes in healthcare. I have seen a lot of innovation in healthcare, and Opala stood out as a company that can provide greater efficiency and better outcomes for patients."

For over 20 years, Chandler was with Premera Blue Cross, most recently serving as senior vice president of National Accounts. In that role, he was responsible for an $8.9 billion business portfolio representing all of Premera's largest, high profile, complex and sophisticated employer clients. During this time, Chandler also served as Chairman of the Consortium of Health Plans Board of Directors and drove product solutions aimed at improving access to care and health innovations. He also served in a secondary role as CEO of Vivacity, a Premera-owned wellness company. Earlier in his career at Premera, Chandler served as vice president of National Account Operations and vice president of Operations for LifeWise Health Plan of Oregon, a Premera-owned company.

Chandler joins Opala after a year of significant growth for the company as it reached revenue goals and grew its headcount from eight to more than 40 employees year-to-date. Looking ahead, Chandler will lead the company as it streamlines healthcare data exchange and expects to release new products to improve value-based contracts and satisfy CMS Interoperability mandates for health plans by the end of the year. In May 2022, Opala was sponsored by Providence and MultiCare, two of the largest regional health systems in Washington, to join the Da Vinci Project, a collaboration of industry experts addressing the dual challenges of data standardization and interoperability in healthcare.

"Interoperability is vital for creating a sustainable, effective healthcare system," said Richard Cooper, former CEO of the Everett Clinic and Opala advisor. "I share the enthusiasm about what Opala is building. The company is well positioned with Ken at the helm to improve the way payers and providers collaborate to deliver patient centered value-based care."

Founded in 2020, Opala is on a mission to vastly improve healthcare information flow in real time. With solutions directly connecting data flows across the healthcare experience, Opala seeks to provide a complete longitudinal clinical view, enabling every patient's experience to be optimized through seamless collaboration between payers and providers. In 2021, Opala launched the Opala Data Hub and CMS Interoperability Compliance products with its largest client, a regional health plan in Washington state and Alaska. Opala's newest solutions – Patient Access API, Provider Directory API, Payer to Payer Exchange, and the soon-to-be-released Eligibility and Attribution Rosters API – automate and standardize payer and provider data exchange and support Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), value-based contract performance, and quality of care. Opala is headquartered in Seattle, WA. For more information, visit www.opala.com.

SOURCE Opala