City & State Names NYC Health + Hospitals and MetroPlusHealth CEOs, Chair of the Board to “2022 Health Power 100” List
President and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals Mitchell Katz, MD and Chair of the Board of Directors José A. Pagán ranked 9th; President and CEO of MetroPlus Health Talya Schwartz, MD ranked 28th
Jan 28, 2022
NYC Health + Hospitals today announced that President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD, President and CEO of MetroPlusHealth Health Talya Schwartz, MD, and NYC Health + Hospitals Chair of the Board of Directors José A. Pagán have been named on City & State New York’s “2022 Health Power 100” list. This year, the publication is highlighting the public health officials, hospital executives, labor leaders, activists, and other influential figures that have shaped New York’s response to the pandemic, and other pressing health care matters, over the past year. Dr. Katz and Mr. Pagán are ranked 9th for their work together leading the country’s largest public health care system through the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The System also played a major role fueling COVID-19 vaccination and testing in the city. Dr. Schwartz is ranked 28th and recognized for prioritizing the expansion of access to mental health care. MetroPlusHealth Health, a subsidiary of NYC Health + Hospitals, last month brought its behavioral health services in-house, providing its 625,000 members with both medical and behavioral health benefits under one roof.
“I would like to extend my gratitude to City & State for this incredible honor alongside my close colleagues Dr. Talya Schwartz and José A. Pagán, PhD,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “But our work wouldn’t be possible without the extraordinary efforts of our frontline staff who continue to provide New Yorkers with compassionate, lifesaving care in this ongoing health crisis.”
“It is truly an honor to be recognized among such a devoted group of health professionals,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Board Chair José A. Pagán, PhD. “Our public healthcare system is dedicated to eliminating health disparities and increasing the quality of care for all New Yorkers. I am proud of the work we’re doing at NYC Health + Hospitals to deliver on that promise.”
“It’s an honor to be on a list with my peers and so many incredible experts and leaders,” said Dr. Talya Schwartz, President and CEO of MetroPlusHealth. “I am proud to serve New York City’s communities in a time of need. My priority has always been to make sure that the City’s most underserved populations have access to proper care, food, housing, and other essential services needed to live a healthier life.”
Dr. Katz was appointed President and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals in January 2018. During this time, Dr. Katz has focused on advancing the transformation of the public health care system with numerous new initiatives to expand access to primary care services, reduce administrative costs, invest in more frontline clinical staff, and build financial stability. In September 2020, NYC Care, a healthcare access program for New Yorkers who are not eligible for or cannot afford health insurance, went live citywide four months ahead of schedule under Dr. Katz’s stewardship.
Dr. Katz’s initial transformation strategy helped set the groundwork for the public health care system to combat the challenges of the unprecedented global health crisis, COVID-19. During the pandemic, the system was able to more than triple its ICU capacity, stand up a COVID-19-dedicated hotline to help mitigate dangerous overcrowding in the system’s emergency departments, transition nearly all existing ambulatory care appointments to telemedicine, and help establish the city’s Test & Trace Corps. The public health care system is now also providing critical support to facilitate the City’s rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and boosters to those who are eligible.
José A. Pagán, PhD, is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Public Health Policy and Management in the College of Global Public Health at New York University. He is also Adjunct Senior Fellow of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania and Chair of the National Advisory Committee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Health Policy Research Scholars. Pagán is a health economist who has led research, implementation and evaluation projects on the redesign of health care delivery and payment systems. He is interested in population health management, health care payment and delivery system reform, and the social determinants of health. He is currently a member of the Committee on Systems Approaches to Improve Patient Care by Supporting Clinician Well-Being at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. He also has served on the Board of Directors of the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science and the American Society of Health Economists.
Dr. Talya Schwartz was appointed President & CEO of MetroPlusHealth Health in 2019. During her tenure, MetroPlusHealth Health has achieved a 20% growth in membership, a five-star rating from New York State’s Consumer Guide, and an increase in overall net worth. Dr. Schwartz’s ongoing commitment to addressing the social determinants of health among New York’s most vulnerable communities is the pinnacle of her leadership—actively ensuring that MetroPlusHealth Health remains at the forefront of supporting its members through holistic, field-based care. Internally, she has prioritized and implemented a tech-first approach to streamlining company operations—working closely with the executive team to transform the remote workforce ability and accelerate market growth through the launch of telehealth and other virtual platforms.
Prior to her appointment, Dr. Schwartz served as the Chief Medical Officer at MetroPlusHealth and in the private sector where she was the founding member of a behavioral health technology startup company. She was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania and served as a Fellow at the National Institutes of Health. A trained physician, Dr. Schwartz earned her medical degree from the Sackler School of Medicine, completed her residency in Pediatrics at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, and practiced at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC. She holds a graduate certificate in Health Services Management and Leadership from George Washington University.