Bookmark

Senior Management Group

Our mission is to set the standard for outstanding quality health care, service, and value. Our dedication to excellence makes us one of the leading health plans in the nation. Meet our senior management group.

James Roosevelt, Jr.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Roosevelt joined Tufts Health Plan in 1999 as senior vice president and general counsel and held that position until June 2005, when he became president and chief executive officer. As the general counsel, he presided over the legal department and the company's compliance, privacy and government relations functions.

Before joining Tufts Health Plan, Mr. Roosevelt was the associate commissioner for Retirement Policy for the Social Security Administration in Washington, D.C. Mr. Roosevelt spent 10 years as partner at Choate, Hall and Stewart in Boston. He is past chairman of the board of trustees for the Massachusetts Hospital Association, past president of the American Health Lawyers Association and past chairman of the board of trustees for Mount Auburn Hospital.

Currently, Mr. Roosevelt serves as chairman of the board of directors for Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, and as a member of the board of directors and co-chair of the policy committee at America's Health Insurance Plans. He is a member of the board of directors for the Rhode Island Quality Institute and the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare, and is co-chair of the board of directors for the Tufts Health Care Institute. He serves as chief legal counsel for the Massachusetts Democratic Party and is co-chair of the Rules and By-laws Committee of the Democratic National Committee. In November 2008, President-elect Barack Obama appointed Mr. Roosevelt to his transition team to co-chair a review of the Social Security Administration. Mr. Roosevelt is also a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance.

Mr. Roosevelt received his J.D. from Harvard Law School and his A.B. with honors in government from Harvard College. He has also completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Thomas A. Croswell, CLU
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Croswell joined Tufts Health Plan in 2007 as chief operating officer. In his position, he is responsible for the management of corporate functions, executing the company's strategic plan, and ensuring that Tufts Health Plan maintains its strong culture of quality, innovation and customer service.

Mr. Croswell previously served as senior vice president of medical management and specialty businesses at CIGNA. While at CIGNA, he also served as President of its Dental and Pharmacy businesses, led development of its consumer directed health care products, and served as the leader of CIGNA's Intracorp subsidiary, which provides medical management and workers compensation services.

Prior to his career at CIGNA, Mr. Croswell served in senior leadership roles at Prudential Insurance Company, including President of its western region and senior vice president of its individual insurance agencies organization. He is a past member of the board of directors of the National Committee on Quality Assurance and currently serves on the board of directors of the Alzheimer's Association of Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Mr. Croswell completed the Wharton Advanced Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania and earned a B.A. from Syracuse University. He is a chartered life underwriter.

David Abelman
Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel and President, Tufts Health Plan Foundation
In his role as deputy general counsel, Mr. Abelman is responsible for day-to-day oversight of Tufts Health Plan's legal department, which includes the fraud prevention and recovery unit. He is counsel to the provider contracting team and serves as the company's chief litigation counsel.

As foundation president, Mr. Abelman has senior responsibility for the operations and strategic activities of the company's philanthropic arm. The foundation's focus is healthy aging, promoting the health and wellness of older adults in our communities. Mr. Abelman oversees the foundation's staff and all foundation activities, including investments, grant-making and administrative functions.

Mr. Abelman joined Tufts Health Plan in 1999. He previously served as senior litigation counsel to Fidelity Investments, as an assistant U.S. attorney in the District of Massachusetts, and as a junior partner with the firm of Nutter, McClennen & Fish in Boston.

Mr. Abelman received his B.A. in economics, summa cum laude, from Brandeis University and a J.D., with honors, from the University of Chicago Law School.

Patty Blake
Senior Vice President of Senior Products
Ms. Blake joined Tufts Health Plan in 1993 to develop and launch the company's senior product offerings. Under her management, Tufts Health Plan early on established itself as the market leader with a demonstrated commitment to seniors, and became the number one Medicare Advantage plan in Massachusetts. Ms. Blake is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the senior products business known as Medicare Preferred, including business strategy, product development, marketing, sales, service and operations. Tufts Health Plan Medicare Preferred is consistently ranked among the top 10 Medicare Advantage plans in the country by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.

Prior to joining Tufts Health Plan, Ms. Blake spent seven years with PacifiCare Health Systems in California where she was a regional director of health services, responsible for provider contracting, provider service and utilization management. Ms. Blake started her career in managed care in sales and has worked with both commercial and Medicare risk HMO members.

Ms. Blake received a master's degree in business administration from the U.C.L.A. Anderson School of Management, a master's degree in health care management from the U.C.L.A. School of Public Health and a bachelor of science degree in public health from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Tracey Carter
Senior Vice President and Chief Actuary
Ms. Carter is responsible for managing actuarial and underwriting functions for both the commercial and senior products business segments.

Prior to joining Tufts Health Plan in 2006, Ms. Carter worked at Excellus Blue Cross in Buffalo, N.Y., where she was vice president of actuarial services responsible for pricing and product development. Prior to Excellus, she spent several years at Aetna, Inc. in a variety of actuarial roles.

Ms. Carter, a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in mathematics from Westminster College.

Lois Dehls Cornell
Senior Vice President of Human Resources and General Counsel
Ms. Cornell is responsible for all legal issues involving the company, including board governance, compliance and regulatory issues, public policy and government affairs, contracting, corporate transactions, dispute resolution, litigation management, and fraud prevention and recovery. She is also responsible for all areas of human resources, including compensation and benefits, diversity, employee wellness, recruitment, corporate learning and organizational development. In addition, Ms. Cornell oversees internal communications, corporate reputation management, media relations and external communications.

Since joining Tufts Health Plan in 1991, Ms. Cornell has served as assistant vice president/deputy general counsel, corporate compliance officer and assistant general counsel. Prior to joining Tufts Health Plan, Ms. Cornell was an associate at Goodwin Procter in Boston where she concentrated in corporate and nonprofit law. She earned a B.A. from Macalester College, a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law, and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Ms. Cornell serves on the board of directors of the American Health Lawyers Association, where she serves on the membership, finance and executive committees. She is a member of the board of directors of UMass Memorial Medical Center and currently chairs the governance committee. She also serves on the board of directors of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and HomeStart, Inc.

Paul Kasuba, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Kasuba joined Tufts Health Plan in 2010 as chief medical officer. In his position, he is responsible for overseeing the 300-member clinical services staff and for developing strategies for improving medical outcomes and reducing costs to help maintain Tufts Health Plan’s outstanding reputation for clinical excellence. He serves as the clinical spokesperson to Tufts Health Plan customers, legislators, regulators and the media, and works to help Tufts Health Plan develop new opportunities to partner with area hospitals and physicians.

Most recently, Dr. Kasuba was chief of the division of internal medicine at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston and assistant clinical professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine.  While at St. Elizabeth’s, Dr. Kasuba served as vice president and medical director of the Caritas Physician Network’s community practice division and president of St. Elizabeth’s Health Professionals IPA.

Dr. Kasuba is a graduate of Tufts University School of Medicine and completed his medical training at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston. He received his A.B. degree with honors in political science from Duke University.

Dr. Kasuba is vice chairman of the Medical Directors Committee for the Alliance of Community Health Plans, working to help shape the committee’s strategic priorities to promote high quality, affordable care and superior consumer experience for ACHP members. A member of the American Medical Association and the Massachusetts Medical Society, Dr. Kasuba currently maintains a limited private internal medicine practice.

Umesh Kurpad
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Kurpad joined Tufts Health Plan in 2008 as chief financial officer. In this position he is responsible for the proactive financial management of the corporation including financial planning and reporting, M&A, tax, treasury, real estate, purchasing, audit, reserves, and actuarial and underwriting.

Prior to Tufts Health Plan, Mr. Kurpad served as chief financial officer of Munich Re Health America, a leading provider of health care risk management solutions. Prior to that, Mr. Kurpad served in senior leadership roles at CIGNA Corporation, including vice president of business development for the Asia/Pacific unit of CIGNA International, assistant vice president of provider and international strategy, and assistant vice president and controller of managed care operations. Mr. Kurpad began his health care career at Kaiser Permanente in California and worked on both financing and delivery of health care.

Mr. Kurpad earned an M.B.A. from the University of Florida, and a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Delhi, India. He completed the certified public accountant exams in California.

Mr. Kurpad serves as a Corporate Council Member on the Environmental League of Massachusetts and an advisory board member of the Center for Innovation and Change Leadership at Suffolk University. He has also served on a number of boards including Lovelace Health Systems, Health Dialog, Cairnstone, iiSi and Sterling Health Plans.

Brian P. Pagliaro
Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Client Services
Mr. Pagliaro oversees the Commercial Sales & Service division and is responsible for sales, sales strategy and account management. Prior to joining Tufts Health Plan in 2004, Mr. Pagliaro was senior vice president of sales and marketing for OptiCare Health Systems. He has also held senior sales positions with Progressive Health Inc., Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Health Advantage, Inc., Sedwick Consulting Group and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Connecticut.

Mr. Pagliaro received his bachelor’s degree in behavioral education from Boston University. He has served on the board of directors at Caring Program for Children and the American Lung Association of North Carolina. He was also a Member of the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce and the Raleigh Sports Council.

Christina Severin
Senior Vice President, Tufts Health Plan and President, Network Health, LLC
As the president of Network Health, Tufts Health Plan's managed Medicaid plan subsidiary, Ms. Severin oversees the strategic direction and business operations for all aspects of the health plan.

In her tenure as president, Ms. Severin is responsible for driving significant business growth, including expanding Network Health into the Commonwealth Care business line. Additionally, she leads the development and implementation of many marquee Network Health services and programs, such as the health plan's proprietary predictive modeling application, innovative medical expense management, and dynamic approach to improving care and decreasing costs for members with complex health needs.

Prior to assuming the role of president in 2006, Ms. Severin served as vice president and chief operating officer, and director of quality for Network Health. Earlier in her career, she served as director of managed care and practice management for Health Services Partnership, practice manager at Codman Square Health Center and director of community health center services at Boston City Hospital.

Ms. Severin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political economy from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a Master of Public Health degree with a concentration in health services from Boston University. She currently serves as a foundation associate for the Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Health Care Industry Foundation and is a board member and officer of both the Association of Community Affiliated Health Plans and the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans.

Marc Spooner
Senior Vice President of Health Care Services
Mr. Spooner is responsible for the delivery of health care services by the Tufts Health Plan Commercial and Medicare network. In this role, he oversees clinical operations, programs and the implementation of medical cost management initiatives. He is also responsible for the contracting and management of the Tufts Health Plan network including hospital, physician, allied health and pharmacy services.

Mr. Spooner joined Tufts Health Plan in 2004 and has served as vice president of Provider Contracting and vice president of Strategy and Product Development. Before joining Tufts Health Plan in October 2004, Mr. Spooner worked for Deloitte Consulting, where he focused on the health insurance market.

Mr. Spooner received a B.S. from Duke University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Tricia Trebino
Senior Vice President, Operations and Chief Information Officer
Ms. Trebino oversees Commercial and Medicare Preferred Operations, Information Technology, Business Process Reengineering, and Corporate Planning. She is responsible for developing the information technology strategy and managing technology products and services for Tufts Health Plan. Ms. Trebino manages operations for all products and also provides internal consulting services to the organization, including business process engineering and corporate program management.

Ms. Trebino joined Tufts Health Plan in 1994 and has served as senior vice president of information systems, vice president of information systems operations, and director of programming and analysis. Prior to that, she spent three years with InterPractice Systems, a start-up company involved in the development of an electronic medical record system. She spent 13 years in the health care division at Electronic Data Systems, where she provided health care consulting and information technology management to a number of health care organizations. Ms. Trebino received a B.A. in Urban Studies from Wellesley College.