Board - Maryland Health Benefit Exchange

Guiding a Vision for Maryland’s Health Insurance Coverage

The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange is a public corporation and independent unit of state government.

Guiding a Vision for Maryland’s Health Insurance Coverage

The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange is a public corporation and independent unit of state government.

Board Meetings

The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Board of Trustees meets monthly, or more often as needed. The meetings are conducted in an open forum pursuant to Maryland’s Open Meetings Act. All meeting agendas, materials and minutes are available to the public through this website. Register to address the board during the public comment portion of a meeting.

Board Documents
2023 Board Documents
2022 Board Documents
2021 Board Documents
2015-2020 Board Documents

2023 Board Meeting Dates

Monday, Oct. 16 (virtual)

Note: There are no meetings in August, November or December.

2024 Board Meeting Dates

January 16* (hybrid)
February 20* (virtual)
April 15 (hybrid)
May 20 (virtual)
June 18 (in person)
July 15 (virtual)
September 16 (hybrid)
October 21 (virtual)

*Meeting on Tuesday because of Monday holiday.

Note: There are no meetings in March, August, November or December.

Board Meetings

2023 Board Meeting Dates

Monday, Oct. 16 (virtual)

Note: There are no meetings in August, November or December.

2024 Board Meeting Dates

January 16* (hybrid)
February 20* (virtual)
April 15 (hybrid)
May 20 (virtual)
June 18 (in person)
July 15 (virtual)
September 16 (hybrid)
October 21 (virtual)

*Meeting on Tuesday because of Monday holiday.

Note: There are no meetings in March, August, November or December.

Board Documents
2023 Board Documents

2022 Board Documents

2021 Board Documents

2020 Board Documents

2015-2019 Board Documents

Board of Trustees

MHBE has a nine-member Board of Trustees that includes the secretary of the Maryland Department of Health, the commissioner of the Maryland Insurance Administration, and the executive director of the Maryland Health Care Commission. Three members who represent employer and individual consumer interests and three additional board members are appointed by the governor.

Dr. Laura Herrera Scott

Secretary, Maryland Department of Health

Dr. Laura Herrera Scott Maryland Health Benefit Exchange

Dr. Laura Herrera Scott is a health-care leader with expertise across decades in integrating value-based care philosophy with clinical and population health strategies. Most recently, Dr. Scott served as executive vice president of population health at Summit Health, and as vice president of clinical strategy and product at Anthem. She also brings MDH experience, she last served in the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene from 2011-2015 as deputy secretary of public health services. She received a master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University and a doctor of medicine from SUNY Health Science Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Rondall Allen

Dean and professor, University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy and Health Professions

As dean of the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, Rondall Allen serves as the chief academic and administrative officer for four departments: kinesiology, physical therapy, physician assistant, and rehabilitation services. His primary responsibilities as dean include articulating the school’s vision and mission, and overseeing the school’s strategic plan. Prior to his role at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Allen was an associate professor and associate dean for academic quality in the School of Pharmacy at South University in Savannah, Ga.

Aika Aluc

Director of State and Community Engagement, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)

Aika Aluc Maryland Health Benefit Exchange

Aika Aluc, MPH, is an engaging health equity strategist with extensive maternal and child health and public health policy subject-matter expertise. Ms. Aluc is the Director of State and Community Engagement on the Programmatic Health Equity Initiatives & Strategy team at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO). She provides direct project management for the Strategies to Repair Equity and Transform Community Health (STRETCH) Initiative, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In her previous role at ASTHO, she supported the completion of deliverables related to projects under breastfeeding, maternal mortality, and risk-appropriate care portfolios on the maternal and infant health team.

She holds a Master of Public Health degree in Maternal and Child Health from the George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Hartford.

Kathleen A. Birrane

Commissioner, Maryland Insurance Administration

Kathleen A. Birrane was appointed Maryland insurance commissioner by Gov. Larry Hogan in May 2020. Prior to her appointment as commissioner, Birrane was chair of the Governance and Nominations Committee for the University of Maryland Medical Center Board of Directors. She also worked as an attorney with the global law firm DLA Piper, where her practice focused on insurance and reinsurance transactions, regulatory compliance and related litigation.

Laura Crandon

Founding Member at CHIEF

Laura Crandon Maryland Health Benefit Exchange

Laura Crandon is a strategist and innovator. She is a former healthcare and technology executive and founder of Touch4Life, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to increase the breast health IQ of BIPOC and underserved communities and eliminate breast cancer outcomes disparities. She has over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, new product development leader and strategic alliance professional where her superpowers are connecting people with resources and networking.

The daughter of two path-breaking civil rights sojourners, Laura earned and a BS in Computer Science from University of Maryland College Park and an MBA from Duke University Fuqua School of Business. She holds certifications as a National Breast Cancer Foundation Ambassador, American Cancer Society Health Equity Ambassador Link, Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® Financial Officer.

Maria Pilar Rodriguez

President and Executive Director of MPR Business Solutions, LLC.

Maria Pilar Rodriguez is president and executive director of MPR Business Solutions, LLC. MPR provides a wide range of services, including translation and consulting support for small businesses that serve grassroots and underserved communities. María is the executive director of the Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the former executive director of Maryland Hispanic Business Conference. She has decades of experience as a paralegal, administrative professional and Spanish interpreter/translator.

Ben Steffen

Executive Director, Maryland Health Care Commission

Ben Steffen serves as the executive director of the Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC) as well as the director of the commission’s Center for Information Services and Analysis. He is responsible for commission programs in hospital and long-term care services, health coverage in the small group market, and health information technology. Steffen serves as a spokesperson for the MHCC pertaining to insurance coverage, state health care expenditures, physician workforce, physician uncompensated care, and information security.

K. Singh Taneja

Chief Operating Officer, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital

K. Singh Taneja is chief operating officer of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, a publicly funded psychiatric hospital in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, he served as chief operating officer of Prince George’s Hospital Center and held other senior leadership positions at Dimensions Healthcare System. He is an effective professional executive with more than 35 years of senior level experience in healthcare – for-profit, not-for-profit, public, and university-owned or affiliated trauma centers.

Dana Weckesser

Founder and CEO, Global Health Partnerships Consulting

Dana Weckesser is founder and CEO of Global Health Partnerships Consulting in Baltimore. She is an executive manager with 30 years professional multicultural experience including global health, external relations, fundraising and grant-making for nonprofit health and business sectors. She is an entrepreneurial team player who shows repeated success in brokering cross-functional partnerships between and among the private, public, multilateral, and nonprofit sectors and creating cause-related marketing campaigns.