MDwise
MDwise Leadership

Jessica Cromer - President & CEO is a Health Plan Executive offering 25 years of government programs expertise in Medicaid and Medicare who has held various progressive leadership roles including Health Plan Operations, Quality, Compliance, Enrollment and Premium Reconciliation. Ms. Cromer has comprehensive experience overseeing profit and loss targets and has successfully led several RFP and contract rebids. She is a respected leader who creates successful teams that are innovative, deliver results, mission driven and live the company’s core values. Ms. Cromer has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Washington & Jefferson College and a master’s degree in applied mathematics from West Virginia University. Prior to MDwise, Ms. Cromer was executive director for Gateway Health Plan in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and responsible for the management of the Pennsylvania HealthChoices program with 284,000 members and $1.4 billion in annual revenue. Ms. Cromer also worked 18 years for Amerigroup, an Anthem-owned company, where she earned a series of promotions leading to more senior positions.

In this role, Ms. Brunton provides leadership for the health plans overall financial operations, reporting, and strategic planning. Ms. Brunton brings more than 15 years of experience in finance and accounting including managed care and commercial products.

Most recently, Ms. Brunton was the Director of Finance - Health Plans, Population Health and Community Health for Indiana University Health in Indiana. Ms. Brunton also worked for Health New England as the Director of Accounting and the Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange as the Head of Financial Planning and Analysis and Controller.

Ms. Brunton has a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Northeastern University and an MBA and master’s in Finance degrees from Indiana University. She serves on the Board of the Women’s Advancement Initiative at the University of Hartford and as the President of The Females’ Center of Excellence and Leadership, Inc.

Ms. Hebenstreit joined MDwise as vice president and general counsel in January of 2009. Ms. Hebenstreit has a wealth of health law and legal related knowledge and experience. She directs and coordinates MDwise's efforts to ensure compliance with laws, regulations and policies that govern its Medicaid business. She also oversees reporting for FSSA, the government affairs staff/activities and a special investigations unit (SIU) that performs program integrity activities for MDwise health plans.

Ms. Hebenstreit previously worked at the Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County where she spent almost six years as chief of staff and two years as general counsel. Prior to that, she spent time as the director of long term care at OMPP and also as director of the medicaid fraud control unit at the Indiana Attorney General’s Office. Ms. Hebenstreit serves on the board of directors of Safe Sitter, Inc. and the executive committee of the Indianapolis Bar Association Health and Life Sciences Committee.

Ms. Hebenstreit obtained her J.D. from Indiana University School of Law Indianapolis and her B.A. in Political Science from Marquette University.

In this role, Ms. Howell is responsible for overseeing provider relations and services and the overall provider experience.

Ms. Howell brings more than 20 years of experience in healthcare including managed care for Medicaid, Medicare, Exchange and Commercial products 9 years of those in leadership roles.

Most recently, she was the Senior Director of Configuration for Evolent Health LLC overseeing multiple clients in various programs with membership over 800,000 lives and leading teams both stateside and offshore. Ms. Howell also worked for AmeriHealth Caritas of Indiana for 8 years where she had a series of promotions within various departments such as quality, claims, auditing, credit balance and network management.

Ms. Howell holds a degree from Vincennes University in Hospitality Business Management and is a lifelong Hoosier.

In this role, Ms. Mullaney is responsible for overseeing clinical functions including prior authorization, utilization management, care coordination and case management. Joining MDwise in November of 2020, she maintains quality processes by ensuring all programs meet accreditation requirements. This includes holding both member- and provider-focused clinical programs to the highest standards of quality, ensuring proper utilization decisions and processes, appropriate services, and excellent member care.

Most recently, Ms. Mullaney was a manager of case management and business change at a large insurance company. As a registered nurse, she has worked in clinical practice and administrative roles including an intensive care unit, transplant coordination for pediatrics and adults, practice management in cardiovascular surgery and managed care.

She has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Ball State University and a master’s degree in nursing administration from the University of Indianapolis.

Dr. Jeffrey Wheeler is the Medical Director at MDwise. He is a board-certified physician in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. He practiced as a staff physician for over 20 years in central Indiana on the medical staff of Methodist, Indiana University and St. Vincent Hospitals.

During his time in private practice, he has continued to focus on education through his affiliation with the Indiana University School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine where he participated in resident and student education, physician advisory committees and credentialing oversight.

For the last 7 years, he has practiced as a physician reviewer and Medical Director for Anthem, Inc. During his time at Anthem, Inc. he co-chaired a FEP Autism Member Comprehensive care committee and was a medical advisor in multiple other areas, including: Case Management and Utilization Management, Chronic Disease and Condition Care, HEDIS QCR, and Quality Improvement.

Dr. Lisa Knowles is the Director of Dental Programs. She oversees the management of provider relations, utilization management, and all clinical aspects related to dentistry. She graduated from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, completed a one-year residency at the Ann Arbor Veterans Medical Center, and practiced in a variety of clinical settings. She is passionate about access to oral health education and care for everyone and how the mouth reflects overall health and well-being.

Dr. Knowles previously worked with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan as their primary Dental Consultant. Prior to that, she was an adjunct professor at the Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry, and she traveled nationally to speak to providers and teams on whole health dentistry, eco-friendly dental best practices, and mindfulness-based stress reduction for healthcare professionals.

 

In this role, Ms. Carson is responsible for developing and implementing strategies to promote health equity and working collaboratively with healthcare providers and community-based organizations to improve healthcare outcomes for underserved populations. She also leads the MDwise Health Equity Council.

Ms. Carson brings a dynamic public health background. Her professional experience includes public policy, public health messaging, research, program management, community engagement and training and teaching. She previously worked with the IUPUI Project ECHO Center supporting Indiana's first HIV, COVID-19, and Cancer Prevention and Survivorship ECHO training programs for healthcare teams.

Ms. Carson received her master’s in public health with a concentration in health disparities and her Bachelor of Science in Community Health Education from the University of Indianapolis.

Russ Oppenborn comes to MDwise from Missouri Care, an Elevance Company. Russ was the Director of Operations Compliance Officer, State Regulatory Affairs for the past eight years and prior to that he was with Express Scripts as Director of Legal Services, Regulatory Licensing/Legal Compliance. Russ has a Bachelor of Business Administration (BSBA), Marketing.

Russ is an expert in identifying compliance risks while mitigating future exposures with detailed plans. Highly resourceful and knowledgeable within research and regulatory affairs with long-built relationships with state partners and business leaders.

Russ will manage Health Plan Operations including Marketing, Community Engagement and serve as the liaison to MDwise operational areas.

In this role, Ms. Brown ensures the accuracy of financial statements and reporting, both internally and externally.

Most recently, Ms. Brown managed an accounting team for Ascension St. Vincent. She has also served in financial planning and analysis roles at Anthem. Joining MDwise in April of 2021, her experience spans both public and corporate accounting. She has worked in both health care insurance and with providers.

Ms. Brown holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business in Bloomington. She is also a licensed CPA.

In this role, Ms. Moorman is responsible for leading the Medical Management Teams including Utilization Management and Case Management.

Since joining MDwise in 2015, she has had various roles in Health Services. Her most recent role was Medical Management Manager. Prior to coming to MDwise, Ms. Moorman’s roles span from different healthcare settings and populations as a Registered Nurse. Her experience ranges from clinical and administrative roles including High Risk Labor and Delivery, practice management in Women’s Health and FQHC.

In this role, Mr. Burger is responsible for leading day to day operations of the provider relations team assisting network providers with understanding MDwise products policies and procedures.

Mr. Burger brings more than 12 years of experience in the healthcare industry where primarily he has held provider operations roles including 6 years of leadership.

Most recently, he was Provider Relations Manager for Indiana University Health Plans overseeing provider relations operations for Medicare and Commercial products.

Mr. Burger holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree both from Indiana University and both in health administration.

 

Joining MDwise in September of 2013, Mr. Goerges manages information technology (IT) operations and associated staff, cybersecurity and office facilities. He is responsible for employee security awareness, security objective implementation, policy planning, data security maintenance, and infrastructure development. He leads the IT helpdesk and operations teams in supporting the technology, data security, and physical environment of the company.

Most recently, Mr. Goerges served as the divisional software development manager for Affiliated Computer Services (ACS, A Xerox Company), where he worked for 11 years. He has more than 21 years of experience in information technology.

Mr. Goerges has a bachelor’s degree in business from Indiana University, Bloomington, where he majored in computer information systems.

Ms. Marks joined MDwise as Director of Customer Service in early 2024. She is responsible for the overall direction and management in providing world class service to MDwise members and providers. Ms. Marks previously worked at Verida, where she spent five years leading the customer service team as the Call Center Director, ensuring that the Medicaid members of Indiana received superior customer care while seeking non-emergency transportation. While there she standardized and implemented call quality programs including monitoring, coaching and utilization of artificial intelligence software applications to improve quality across multiple call centers throughout the organization. She has more than 25 years of customer service experience, including 18 years with Charter Communications, where her priority was the management, development, coaching and mentoring of customer service leadership. She is a servient leader who is committed to high quality expectations, process improvement, training to strengths and leadership mentoring to improve operation key performance indicators.

In this role, Mr. Matthews is responsible for staying abreast of local, regional and national legal affairs and policies that may affect MDwise and the health care industry, ensuring the company remains compliant with all applicable federal and state laws, regulations and rules. He works closely with the general counsel to analyze legal issues, draft and review contracts, and provide executive leadership with a myriad of other legal services.

Joining MDwise in October of 2016, Mr. Matthews has more than 25 years of private law firm experience, in which he focused on litigation, creditors’ rights and contract management for a variety of business clients, including many in the health care industry.

Most recently, he ran his own law firm for three years. Previously, he was counsel with Frost Brown Todd, a 500-plus lawyer firm based in the Midwest. Prior to this role, he was a partner in the South Bend office of another large, midwestern law firm.

Mr. Matthews holds a juris doctor from Ohio State University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Wabash College.

In this role, Ms. Maxey is responsible for overseeing the community engagement and marketing teams. This includes networking with community and faith-based organizations that service our member populations and educating our members on MDwise benefits and our services. She also oversees the marketing operations team. Joining MDwise in July 2011, she works closely with other MDwise departments to ensure members are able to access the help they need.

Ms. Maxey has been with MDwise for over 13 years. Through Indiana Department of Insurance, she holds a Resident Producer license in Accident and Health since 2015. Ms. Maxey is also a certified community health worker since 2018. In December of 2023, Rachel finished her degree with a B.S. in Business Administration from Martin University.