Our Team
PHC4 Council, Technical Advisory Group, and committee members help carry out our mission of helping Pennsylvanians access quality health care.
Barry D. Buckingham, Executive Director
Barry D. Buckingham has served as executive director of PHC4 since September 2021. Buckingham brings a broad-based health care background to the position. His experience includes leadership positions in hospitals, physician-owned practices, clinically integrated networks, and accrediting agencies. Buckingham’s background also includes administrative positions with a commercial health insurer and a Blues plan, and he served as the chief medical economist for Pennsylvania Medicaid. Buckingham’s education includes a B.S. in Business Administration from Lebanon Valley College and a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) with a health care emphasis from Pennsylvania State University. His mission since joining PHC4 has been increasing the impact of the Council on the health and well-being of the citizens of Pennsylvania.
Appointed Council Members
Council members are appointed to help oversee and carry out the mission of PHC4. In addition to our executive committee, we have additional council members who bring their years of medical, research, business, and policy experience to support PHC4 in our goal to help Pennsylvanians access quality health care.
Executive Committee
Karen Groh
President & CEO, Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce
Robert Bair
President, The Pennsylvania State Building & Construction Trades Council
Neal Lesher
Director, Government Affairs, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry
Tom Duzak
VEBA Trustee, United Steelworkers of America
David Kelley, MD
Chief Medical Officer, Office of Medical Assistance Programs, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services
Arthur Steinberg
President, AFT Pennsylvania
Samuel Denisco
Principal, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
Additional Council Members
Valerie A. Arkoosh, MD, MPH
Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services
Senator Camera Bartolotta
Majority Caucus Secretary, PA Senate
Debra L. Bogen, MD
Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Health
George M. Book, Jr.
President & CEO, West Shore Chamber of Commerce
Representative Bryan Cutler
Republican Chair, Education Committee, PA House of Representatives
Mark Dever
Director – Global Compensation and Benefits, TIMET
Randall N. DiPalo
Financial Secretary-Treasurer, H&W Pension Trustee, Retired, Plumbers and Pipefitters, Local 520
Representative Dan Frankel
Chair, Health Committee, PA House of Representatives
Jodi A. Frantz
Chief of Staff, Pennsylvania Insurance Department
Senator Arthur L. Haywood
Chair, Health and Human Services Committee, PA Senate
Michael Humphreys
Insurance Commissioner, Pennsylvania Insurance Department
Joe Huxta
Manager Health and Wellness, Retired, Volvo-Mack Trucks
Muneeza Iqbal, MPH
Deputy Secretary for Health Resources and Services, Pennsylvania Department of Health
Brad Klein, MD, MBA, FAAN, FAHS, FAANEM
Abington Neurological Associates, Ltd, and Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology, Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University
Matthew D. McHugh, PhD, JD, MPH, RN, FAAN
Director, Center for Health Outcomes & Policy Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
Michael Seim, MD
Senior Vice President & Chief Quality Officer, WellSpan Health
Adele Towers, MD, MPH FACP
Associate Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh and Senior Clinical Advisor, UPMC Enterprises
Monica Virgilio
Per Capita Representative, Pennsylvania AFL-CIO
Michael Yantis
Vice President, State Government Affairs, Highmark, Inc.
Technical Advisory Group
The Technical Advisory Group brings together professionals like physicians, biostatisticians, and health services researchers to respond to issues related to research methodology, statistical expertise, and risk-adjustment methods. They offer advice, contribute to methodological advancements, and ensure our reports stay on the cutting edge of health care information.
David B. Nash, MD, MBA, FACP
Founding Dean Emeritus, Jefferson School of Population Health
Steven Belle, PhD
Professor, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh
Paul N. Casale, MD, MPH
Cardiologist & Healthcare Executive
Daniel J. Glunk, MD, FACP
Chief Quality Officer, Susquehanna Health
Donald Liss, MD
Chief Medical Officer, Johns Hopkins Health Plans
Robert Shipp, III, PhD, BSN, RN, NEA-BC
Vice President, Population Health Strategies, Hospital and Healthsystem Association of PA
Payment Data Advisory Group
The Payment Data Advisory Group produces recommendations to the Council surrounding the collection of payment data, the analysis and manipulation of payment data, and the public reporting of payment data. The payment data advisory group includes technical experts and individuals knowledgeable in payment systems and claims data.
Michael Yantis, Chair
Vice President, State Government Affairs, Highmark, Inc.
Robert Bair
President, Pennsylvania State Building & Construction Trades Council
Brooke Bowers
Director, Financial Reimbursement and Analysis, The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania
Ravi Chawla
Vice President & Chief Analytics Officer, Independence Blue Cross
Christy Dure, MHA, MPA
Assistant Teaching Professor, Program Director, Health Management & Policy, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University
Karen Groh
President & CEO, Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce
Joe Huxta
Retired, Manager of Health & Wellness, Volvo-Mack Trucks
Iftekhar Kazi
Chief Architect & VP, Enterprise Architecture, UPMC
David Kelley, MD
Chief Medical Officer, Office of Medical Assistance Programs, PA Department of Human Services
Jaan Sidorov, MD
Internal Medicine, Geisinger Medical Center
Jay Solomon
Director of Network Provider Operations, Capital Blue Cross
William Van Decker, MD
Cardiology, Professor, Medicine, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
Council Committees
In addition to our appointed council members and Technical Advisory Group members, PHC4 has several committees that support the work we do.
The Data Systems Committee provides direction to the Council in fulfilling its statutory goals of data collection and dissemination and confers with PHC4’s Technical Advisory Group on clinical, statistical and other complicated health issues that will be reflected in the preparation, analysis and dissemination of health information from PHC4. Their responsibilities include:
- Establishing priorities on public reports
- Coordinating data collection with other state agencies
- Collecting provider and payer data in a timely manner
- Anticipating changes in the health care system to identify and plan for the collection, analysis, and presentation of relevant data
- Reviewing and recommending policies and procedures for the PHC4 database
- Conducting administrative direction and oversight relating to data collection and analysis, including review of PHC4 budget activities, purchase/lease of equipment, and issuance of request for proposals (RFP’s)
The mission of the Education Committee is to assist purchasers, policymakers, and consumers of health care services to make more informed decisions to enhance the value and quality of health care in Pennsylvania by promoting awareness, understanding, use, and sale of data and information collected, developed, and analyzed by PHC4.
The Mandated Benefits Review Committee is made up of health care professionals who support PHC4’s mandate through the collection, analysis, and reporting of cost and quality data about health care services in the state.
