AlohaCare, Hawaii’s largest safety-net Medicaid and Medicare plan, announces that distinguished physician and medical administrator Dr. Gary Okamoto will become AlohaCare’s chief medical officer on Oct. 1. AlohaCare, Hawaii’s largest safety-net Medicaid and Medicare plan, announces that distinguished physician and
AlohaCare, Hawaii’s largest safety-net Medicaid and Medicare plan, announces that distinguished physician and medical administrator Dr. Gary Okamoto will become AlohaCare’s chief medical officer on Oct. 1.
Okamoto is former president and chief executive officer of The Queen’s Health Systems, where he served from 2000-2005, and is past president of the Hawaii Medical Association and the Honolulu County Medical Society. In 2011 he was named Physician of the Year by both the Hawaii Medical Association and the Healthcare Association of Hawaii.
“Our goal is to make AlohaCare the preferred health plan for physicians and other providers while providing excellent, state-of-the art care to our members,” said John McComas, AlohaCare CEO. “Gary has the experience, leadership skills and credibility with the medical community to bring us together to reorganize financial incentives and delivery of care in a way that meets our shared goals.”
Okamoto, a physiatrist (specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation), will leave his post as chief medical officer and senior vice president of the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific, where he has served since 2006. At AlohaCare, he will fill a new executive leadership position as chief medical officer, providing strategic direction and leadership for all aspects of AlohaCare’s clinical operations and building effective partnerships with the provider community.
“I am very excited to join the leadership of AlohaCare at a crucial time for our medical system,” said Okamoto. “AlohaCare is committed to bringing about innovation in collaboration with the medical community to serve the most vulnerable populations.”
