As Director of Provider Relations and Professional Services, Kris Atkins is responsible for building and servicing the nation-wide LifeHealth Provider Network. Kris is a proven healthcare and health insurance professional with over 20 years of experience and brings a broad range of skills to the organization. Kris’s experience includes negotiation and contracting, program development and project management, credentialing, medical staff management, and call center management for sales and customer service.
Kris’s recent experience includes five years with Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA, a BC/BS Licensee), where she was a project manager in charge of special projects before moving to the Provider Services Department initially as a Strategic Relationship Manager, then later promoted to Manager, Provider Engagement. In these roles, she worked closely with provider organizations to implement a new payment model while managing pilot programs and special contracts, improving quality and effectively managing total cost of care. Prior to moving to Hawaii, Kris was a project manager at Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, Washington where she gained experience in Medicare Advantage, regulatory compliance and managed Community Relations programs.
Kris’s well-rounded background also includes the design, development and management of a customer service call center for a national Medicare product, she then went on to also manage the internal sales call center team. Prior to that, she owned and operated a centralized verification organization, contracting with several health plans and health systems for provider credentialing services as well as NCQA/JCAHO accreditation preparation consulting services.
Kris finds innovative solutions and is committed to developing and nurturing collaborative relationships with providers to build and support a high performing, high quality provider network.
Kris earned a B.A. from DePaul University and has a Certificate in Project Management from Everett Community College. A Washington State native, she currently lives in Aberdeen, Maryland with her husband and two rescue pups.
