Health Alliance Medical Plans names new Chief Executive Officer

Champaign, Ill. Aug. 15 – Sinead Rice Madigan, Chief Operating Officer, has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of Health Alliance Medical Plans. Rice Madigan served for four years as COO, with 15 years of experience within the health plan, and an additional 15 years with Illinois state government agencies. With her leadership, Health Alliance has seen substantial growth and expansion of key provider partners while adding programs and efficiencies to improve the member experience. She is the first woman to hold the CEO position with the organization.

“I value the mentorship of the CEOs who have come before me and the leaders who sit at the table with me. This organization, and the Carle Health system, is committed to an innovative trajectory ahead and I’m proud to be a part of that,” Rice Madigan said. “Diversity of thought from different genders, cultures, race etc. helps us find purpose, improve and scale new ideas and I’m thrilled to work to continue to bring these values together to achieve better health outcomes for the families we serve.”

In addition to leading the operations strategy for the health plan, Rice Madigan collaborates with stakeholders across the region to ensure the organization’s innovative approach extends medical insights and supports our quality network.

“Sinead is the exact leader needed in this moment to lead Health Alliance forward,” said Dennis Hesch, Carle Health Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer who served in the role for the last three years. “The significance of community-driven Healthcare has never been more critical and she is committed to ensuring Health Alliance continues to expand upon the robust services needed to help support the wellbeing of all members.”

Health Alliance operates in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio and Washington with additional licenses in Nebraska and Missouri, as well as an affiliate in North Carolina, FirstCarolineCare, Inc. Health Alliance is part of Carle Health, an integrated system of healthcare services, which includes, in addition to the insurance entities, a five-hospital system, multi-specialty physician groups, as well as Carle Illinois College of Medicine and the Stephens Family Clinical Research Institute.

 Rice Madigan, started at Health Alliance in 2008 as a pharmacy Medicare specialist. After less than two years, she moved into the corporate relations manager role, advancing the next year to become the director of government relations. After serving as executive director of Medicaid and government relations, she became a vice president in 2016 and assumed the senior vice president of government relations and business operations position in July 2018, then was promoted to chief operating officer. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Illinois State University and was one of the Top 10 Up-and-Coming Industry Leaders in Healthcare 2019 featured in Managed Healthcare Executive magazine.