Jonathan Welch, M.D., is new Chief Medical Officer at Well Sense Health Plan

Jonathan Welch, M.D., has been named Chief Medical Officer for Well Sense Health Plan. In this position, Dr. Welch leads the Office of Clinical Affairs, which includes Pharmacy, Care Management, Utilization Management, Provider Audit/Special Investigations Unit, Quality, and Behavioral Health Services. His responsibilities include oversight of quality improvement and strategy, population health strategy and delivery, regulatory adherence and cost saving initiatives.

“Dr. Welch brings to Well Sense Health Plan a strong background that combines proven administrative and clinical skills,” said Susan Coakley, President of Well Sense Health Plan. “Our members will benefit from his experience and insights as a national leader on patient and family centered care.”

Dr. Welch has been an instructor at Harvard Medical School and an attending physician in the Emergency Department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston for the past five years. Most recently he worked with the consulting firm McKinsey and Company designing bundled payments for state Medicaid programs. While at McKinsey, Dr. Welch also collaborated with several health systems nationally on value-based care strategies, including tracking and improving performance. In addition, he also worked on provider product strategy for Medicare Advantage, and has assessed Stars measure performance and population health management capabilities. Dr. Welch is recognized for his work with patient and family centered care, having served on federal panels examining this critical topic.

He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital. Dr. Welch received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and a Master’s Degree in Health Policy from the London School of Economics. Prior to medical school, Dr. Welch was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Peru with Partners in Health.

According to Dr. Welch, “I am pleased to be engaged in such meaningful work that aligns with my interests and experience, and I look forward to joining the Well Sense Health Plan team. This is especially meaningful since my regulatory and medical experience supports our organization’s mission.”

About Well Sense Health Plan

Well Sense Health Plan has the largest number of members among the managed care organizations selected by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services to provide health care coverage to New Hampshire’s Medicaid recipients. Outside of Massachusetts, Well Sense Health Plan is the business name for Boston Medical Center Health Plan, Inc., a non-profit managed care organization founded in 1997 by Boston Medical Center. Well Sense Health Plan’s Medicaid HMO has received Commendable Accreditation status from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) based on the results from its recent submission of HEDIS and CAHPS data to NCQA. In addition, Well Sense Health Plan’s Medicaid HMO is rated 4 out of 5 – on a scale of 1 to 5 – among Medicaid plans in the U.S., according to NCQA’s Medicaid Health Insurance Plan Ratings 2016-2017. Well Sense is the highest rated Medicaid plan in New Hampshire. For more information, visit wellsense.org.