President , UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia , Inc .
Tadd Haynes
President , UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia , Inc .
SAMANTHA CART
“ Your path is never going to be perfectly linear , but you should be able to glean something from every one of your experiences that helps you get to the next .”
These are words of experience from Tadd Haynes , president of UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia , Inc . After graduating from the University of Charleston with a bachelor ’ s degree in psychology and receiving a Master of Public Health ( MPH ) degree from West Virginia University , he bounced between working in behavioral health and logistics / warehousing as opposed to strategically thinking about where he wanted to go professionally and how to get there .
“ I didn ’ t really understand what my career path should or could look like or how one step could build toward another ,” he recalls .
Haynes ’ winding road came to a head in 2005 when he started working for UniCare as an outreach specialist .
“ We were a small team of eight people at the time , and it was a blessing in that I was exposed to many aspects of the business out of sheer necessity ,” Haynes says . “ I quickly learned about working with providers , contracting , operations , compliance , government relations , health promotion and quality improvement because we all had to chip in to be successful . It was during this time I went back
to school to get my MPH and took an interest in health care policy , especially how those policies impact vulnerable populations . As the organization grew , I had the opportunity to take on a variety of roles and increase my responsibility . Looking back , it was a great way to learn the business and prepare for the role I have today .”
Haynes was named president of Uni- Care in 2018 . Today , he is responsible for all operational and financial aspects of the company , which serves the Medicaid and CHIP populations throughout the state , as well as setting the strategic direction and ensuring members , providers and state partners have what they need .
Photo by John Sibold .
One of the things Haynes enjoys most about his work is the ability to drive necessary conversations and provide leadership around social drivers of health and community needs .
“ When you step back and think about it , the core aspects of what we do are kind of boring ,” he muses . “ We build a network of providers , we pay claims and we stay compliant with our regulators . However , over the past 20 years , we ’ ve gotten really good at the basics , which allows us to do the fun stuff . We do a lot in the community providing funding and building programs to address food insecurity and workforce development as well as addressing emergency needs .
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