Leader of HIG’s Health Plans and Managed Care Practice
25+ years of experience with commercial and government-funded health plans and payers
Focuses on strategy, growth, operational transformation and performance improvement
New York
@alvarezmarsal
LinkedIn
Copied!
Craig R. Savage is a Managing Director and leader of the Health Plans and Managed Care Practice with Alvarez & Marsal’s Healthcare Industry Group (HIG) in New York and Washington, D.C. He has served commercial and government-funded health plans, payers and related diversified businesses for more than 25 years. Mr. Savage’s areas of focus include strategy, growth, operational transformation and performance improvement.
Mr. Savage brings extensive operating and consulting experience working with health plans, payers and associated diversified businesses including dental and vision plans. His experience spans for-profit and not-for-profit commercial, government-funded and public-sector health plans and payers.
Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Savage served as the President and General Manager of Inovalon’s Payer business, providing a portfolio of industry-leading cloud-based SaaS platform solutions that empower data-driven healthcare for a wide array of health plan and payer organizations.
Previously, Mr. Savage was a senior executive at Optum, Inc., a division of UnitedHealth Group, reporting to the Optum Insight CEO, where he served as Senior Vice President responsible for the global payer consulting organization. He oversaw a consulting team of more than 1,000, serving health plan customers across six practice areas, including risk management & growth, government programs, health management & operations, payer technology, professional staffing, and digital transformation. Prior to that Mr. Savage was a Partner and Managing Director for the Health & Public Sector for Accenture, LLP.
Mr. Savage earned a bachelor’s degree in software engineering from Salisbury University. He has completed postgraduate executive development programs at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, Harvard Business School, and Southern Methodist University.
The October 2026 Star Ratings release presents both an opportunity and a challenge for health plans as they navigate uncertain Health Equity Index (HEI) changes. With evolving CMS equity-focused metrics, shifting data collection requirements, and potential weighting adjustments, health plans must take immediate action to optimize their Star Ratings before potential regulatory shifts in 2027.
The healthcare landscape is rapidly evolving, with a growing shift towards value-based care and integrated health systems. As a result, the Provider-Sponsored or Provider-Owned Health Plan (PSHP) market has emerged as a key player in the broader health insurance ecosystem.
Provider-Owned and Provider-Sponsored Health Plans (PSHPs) offer a unique opportunity to improve care delivery while maintaining control over both the insurance and care provision components of the healthcare system. These plans are increasingly seen as a solution to the challenges facing traditional health insurers, offering the potential for improved care coordination and cost management.
As we approach 2025, U.S. health plans across are facing growing pressures stemming from a mix of economic challenges, regulatory complexities and rising consumer expectations. These issues are threatening the financial sustainability of health insurers, impacting the quality of care they can provide, and the overall health outcomes for their members.
