Howard Lu, a veteran leader in the health care industry, has joined Health Partners Plans (HPP) as Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer, reporting to Executive Vice President of Clinical and Provider Management Denise Croce.

In his role, Lu provides leadership and clinical oversight to maintain the highest levels of service by providers. He also helps optimize utilization levels and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the delivery of HPP’s health care services. In addition, Lu develops and maintains relationships with regulatory agencies and works collaboratively with health care economics and analytics.

Lu brings nearly 16 years of experience as a physician and a health care executive to HPP. He has a strong Medicaid and Medicare background, which includes hands-on clinical experience, population management, patient utilization and driving quality improvement through HEDIS measures. Over the course of his career, he has become highly advanced in driving innovation by developing value-based programs and technology solutions to improve quality, increase efficiencies and decrease costs.

Lu previously served in several positions at University Medical Center at Princeton, including medical director of occupational medicine services. Most recently, Lu worked at Horizon NJ Health, where he served in a variety of roles, including chief medical officer for Medicare and executive medical director for government programs.

“Howard’s clinical background coupled with his extensive knowledge of Medicaid and Medicare plans make him the perfect fit for HPP,” said Croce. “His proven track record of improving quality measures and clinical outcomes will further enhance the highly regarded services we offer our growing membership.”

“HPP is known throughout the country for its innovative, member-centric health services and its ability to grow and adapt to the changing health needs of its membership,” said Lu. “I’m honored to play a part in ensuring the excellence that continues to be an intrinsic part of HPP’s service.”

Lu received his Bachelor of Science from Pennsylvania State University, Doctor of Medicine from Thomas Jefferson’s Sidney Kimmel Medical College University, Master of Public Health from UMDNJ School of Public Health and Master of Business Administration from Rutgers Business School. He is board certified in both internal medicine and occupational medicine.

About Health Partners Plans

Nationally recognized for its innovations in managed care, Health Partners Plans is among the top 15 Medicaid plans in the country, one of the highest-rated in Pennsylvania and receives strong ratings for member and provider satisfaction according to the National Committee for Quality Assurance’s (NCQA) Medicaid Health Insurance Plan Ratings 2016–2017. Health Partners Plans is a not-for-profit managed health care organization serving more than 281,000 members in Southeastern Pennsylvania and the Lehigh/Capital region. It provides a broad range of health coverage options through Health Partners Medicare, Health Partners (Medicaid) and KidzPartners (Children’s Health Insurance Program) plans. Founded more than 30 years ago, Health Partners Plans is one of the few hospital-owned health plans in the country. Learn more about how Health Partners Plans isdoing it right at HealthPartnersPlans.com, twitter.com/HPPlans and facebook.com/healthpartnersplans.