Former Illinois Medicaid Director Named COO of Health Management Associates

Health Management Associates (HMA) announced today that Douglas (Doug) L. Elwell, who most recently served as Medicaid director for the State of Illinois in the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, has joined the firm as chief operating officer (COO).

This will be Elwell’s second tenure with HMA, having previously served as a principal and managing principal in the Indianapolis office from July 2003 through October 2014. As the company’s COO, Elwell will be responsible for consulting activities across the firm’s 23 offices.

“Doug has had a long and successful career, and we are thrilled that he has chosen to rejoin the HMA family and serve in a key leadership role,” said HMA CEO Marilynn Y. Evert. “Doug’s wide-ranging expertise, creative thinking, and tireless work ethic make him uniquely qualified to lead our consulting work and provides yet another first-rate resource for our clients.”

Prior to serving this last year as the Illinois Medicaid director, Elwell was deputy chief executive officer for finance and strategy for the Cook County Health and Hospitals System from November 2014 until early 2019. In this role, he was responsible for strategic planning, all aspects of finance and accounting, information technology, human resources, project management, and the system’s managed care plan.

During his previous tenure with HMA, Elwell devoted his efforts to a multi-year wide-ranging engagement with the State of Indiana, as well as serving in interim roles as chief financial officer (CFO) and working with large, public providers, especially in the areas of operations, finance, and Medicaid special financing.

Much of Elwell’s career, prior to joining HMA in 2003, was dedicated to leading hospital systems in roles as CEO, COO, and CFO, most notably serving as the president and executive director of Health and Hospital Corporation in Indianapolis, Indiana, a municipal corporation consisting of a public hospital, public health department, community mental health center, and specialty and primary care physician offices.

Elwell will be based in HMA’s Chicago office.