PBN C-Suite 2024 Awards
LARGE PRIVATE COMPANY: Corey McCarty
CCA Health Rhode Island | Senior vice president and general manager
COREY MCCARTY WAS LOOKING for a way to deliver a better health care system, particularly for older adults such as his parents.
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Then out of the blue, Commonwealth Care Alliance, a Massachusetts-based health nonprofit, sought out McCarty to help the entity launch its Rhode Island presence and expand beyond the Bay State’s borders for the first time. It wouldn’t be the first time that McCarty, CCA Health Rhode Island’s senior vice president and general manager, was part of a growth project.
McCarty, a native Rhode Islander who earned his MBA from Bryant University and started his career in health care at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, is cognizant of the need for that care, as his aging parents are beginning to require such services. McCarty had already helped lead a multiyear turnaround of Blue Cross’ Medicare Advantage business and helped the health insurer grow its enrollment by more than 80%.
McCarty said the idea of being part of building something from the ground up appealed to him. He took on the responsibility of building and leading a local team while overseeing all market functions in Rhode Island, including the health plan launch, membership growth and development, product and performance strategy, network development, community partnerships, advocacy and government relations, customer experience and more.
Since joining Commonwealth Care Alliance Rhode Island LLC, doing business as CCA Health Rhode Island, in 2021, McCarty has built a team of 20 members and opened CCA’s local headquarters in Davol Square in Providence. He also worked to establish a robust, highly accessible network of provider partners operating across the state, including Lifespan Corp., Care New England Health System, University Orthopedics Inc. and Providence Community Health Centers Inc.
While working to offer quality care to the state’s underserved population, McCarty said he and his wife’s experience guiding his parents through the system provided a valuable roadmap to making sure a personal touch was built in to smooth over potential obstacles to care.
McCarty had a good idea of how to improve the process, namely with a more personal and easier-to-understand experience, whether it was writing personal notes or showing up in person.
McCarty recalls a time he organized a clinic that, thanks to the vagaries of New England weather, would normally have been called off. After announcing it, CCA Health had to send staff, and McCarty was there for an earful from an irate attendee. The person stopped suddenly to tell him he knew he wasn’t the person in charge.
“No,” McCarty said, “Actually, I am the one.”
Willing to show up in person, and to work with and for people while you’re in the same room together, makes a difference, McCarty said. He looks for those qualities for his team.
“These individuals are willing to do and sacrifice to put people’s well-being at the forefront,” McCarty said.
McCarty has also led CCA in several strategic partnerships, including one between CCA Health Rhode Island and West Bay Community Action to coordinate medical care and long-term services and supports from Medicaid. The partnership, a first of its kind in Rhode Island, allows CCA Health Rhode Island’s care team and West Bay Community Action’s long-term services and support case managers to collaborate on care coordination activities for members in Kent County.
“We’ve been partnering with them for a little over a year now,” said Kelly McHugh, director of family and senior services at West Bay Community Action.
The partnership allows West Bay Community Action caseworkers more resources to ensure clients receive the care they need, she said. For instance, McHugh said, if a caseworker learns a client has started new medication and has questions about that, CCA Health Rhode Island can connect them with doctors who can advise and explain the medication to the client.
That allows the case manager to better advocate for clients, which is important given the certified nursing assistant shortage in Rhode Island.
“My goal is really to grow this and get more care to people,” McCarty said.
