Dr. Rodrigo Cerdá, senior vice president of Health Services and chief medical officer; Dr. Vic Caraballo, vice president of Quality Management and first-ever chief safety officer; and Diana Lehman B.S.N., R.N., vice president of Case and Condition Management
Today, Independence Blue Cross (Independence) announced leadership changes in the Facilitated Health Networks (FHN) division of the company, which focuses on working with health systems and providers to reimagine how health care is delivered and to improve access, coordination, quality, and experience for Independence members. Dr. Richard Snyder who has served as Independence chief medical officer since 2010 and is executive vice president of Facilitated Health Networks announced the promotions of Dr. Rodrigo Cerdá, Dr. Victor Caraballo and Diana Lehman.
Rodrigo Cerdá, M.D., M.P.H., is now senior vice president of Health Services and chief medical officer; Victor Caraballo, M.D., is now vice president of Quality Management and first-ever chief safety officer; and Diana Lehman, B.S.N., R.N., is now vice president of Case and Condition Management.
“Independence has the opportunity to help redefine care delivery and promote equitable, whole-person health, and Rodrigo, Vic, and Diana are critical to those efforts,” said Richard L. Snyder, M.D., executive vice president of Facilitated Health Networks. “I look forward to continued collaboration with them in their new roles as we innovate on behalf of our customers, members, and the communities we serve.”
Dr. Snyder will continue to lead the Independence Facilitated Health Network strategic efforts and Dr. Cerdá and Dr. Caraballo will report to Dr. Snyder.
Dr. Rodrigo Cerdá
Since joining Independence in 2019, Dr. Cerdá has shaped and led collaborative efforts with providers throughout the region focused on advancing value-based care. He also led Independence’s population health, case and condition management, and provider experience teams. This work has resulted in significant gains in members’ access to high-quality, well-coordinated, and affordable health care. In the new role, Dr. Cerdá will continue this important work and take on accountability for medical management and medical policy, market-facing solutions and support, and health value optimization at Independence.
Before joining Independence, Dr. Cerdá worked in was managing director for Integrated Health Services at PA Consulting and Aetna International in the UK. Prior to that, he worked at McKinsey and Company advising healthcare payers, providers, governments, and non-governmental organizations with a focus on value-based care and public health, while maintaining a position at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School as an attending physician and clinical instructor. Dr. Cerdá completed his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania, his residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, his master’s in public health at Harvard, and his bachelor’s degree at Yale. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine. He currently serves as president of the American Diabetes Association’s Community Leadership Board for Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware and serves on the advisory boards for Managed Healthcare Executive and HealthShare Exchange.
Dr. Victor Caraballo
Dr. Caraballo joined Independence in 2002 as a medical director. In 2019, he was promoted to vice president of Quality Management. He is responsible for ensuring the clinical quality of services delivered in the company’s provider network as well as compliance with accreditation, federal, and state requirements. In the new role, Dr. Caraballo will have expanded accountability for Independence’s Health Equity Program. Seun Ross, Ph.D., Executive Health Equity Director, who reports to Dr. Caraballo, will lead Independence’s regional health equity efforts, including investments, partnerships, and other initiatives to improve care delivery in communities of color, with an initial focus on maternal health and prevention programs.
Dr. Caraballo will also lead the company’s workplace safety efforts. He has led Independence’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and will drive the company’s preparedness for supporting Independence members and associates in future natural disasters and public health crises.
Prior to joining Independence, Dr. Caraballo was the director of Penn Rapid Care at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. He has served as a physician surveyor for the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) since 2006 and as a member of NCQA’s Review Oversight Committee (ROC) since 2010. He served as chair of the ROC from 2014 to 2018 and remains on the committee. He has also served as the ROC liaison to the NCQA Standards Committee from 2014 to 2021 and is now a voting member of the Standards Committee. He is a board member of the Health Care Improvement Foundation. He is also involved in the Health Share Exchange (HSX), an organization that links electronic medical records and data from health insurers’ claims to give providers immediate access to information to make treatment decisions, serving on their Clinical Committee and co-chairing their Population Health Committee. Dr. Caraballo holds both undergraduate and medical degrees from Brown University. He also earned an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is board certified in Emergency Medicine and is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Diana Lehman, B.S.N., R.N.
Diana Lehman has been with Independence for more than 35 years. She has led the growth of case management for Independence members, leading a team of 116 registered nurses, and recently led implementation of the Independence Kidney Care Program. In the new role, Lehman will continue this important work and lead efforts to drive enhancements in targeted clinical areas, including post-acute care and diabetes management.
Lehman holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Villanova University and a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in health services from the Keller School of Management of DeVry University. She has successfully completed the America’s Health Insurance Plans’ Executive Leadership Program and earned the distinction of Certified Healthcare Insurance Executive.
Media Contact:
Diana Quattrone
215-815-7828 (cell)
Diana.Quattrone@ibx.com