Deb Adler brings more than 20 years of experience in executive health care roles, serving in a variety of capacities including network executive, quality management executive, and chief operating officer, to the OPEN MINDS team.

Her consultant work with OPEN MINDS spans a broad range of customers (provider organizations, payors, and government programs) and topics, including collaborative care models/medical behavioral integration, provider network functions– contracting, network designs/tiering, recruitment, telehealth network implementation, and strategic planning. In addition, Ms. Adler has a special interest in helping technology-enabled providers in “go-to-market” strategies and streamlining network functions.

Since entering the managed behavioral health care field, she has become an industry-recognized leader in value-based contracting and alternative payment models. An innovator known for her ability to execute results, she has facilitated network designs and benefit plan approaches that achieve both quality outcomes and healthcare cost savings.

Ms. Adler is also currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Navigator Healthcare, Inc. Prior to her role at Navigator Healthcare Inc., Ms. Adler served as the Senior Vice President of Network and Quality at Talkspace.

Before joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Adler also served as Senior Vice President of Network Strategy for Optum (now UnitedHealth Group) where she was responsible for behavioral health network development, contracting, and strategy for over 185,000 providers. In this role she developed the largest, performance-tiered behavioral health network, largest tele-mental health network, and largest medication-assisted treatment (MAT) network. She was also responsible for implementing network initiatives to promote medical/behavioral integration, improve member outcomes, and reduce total cost of care through collaborative care models.

Prior to joining Optum/UnitedHealth, Ms. Adler spent over 12 years with ValueOptions, Inc. (now Beacon Options) where she held a variety of senior leadership roles including, Executive Vice President of National Networks; Chief Executive Officer, Health Plan Division; Vice President, Network Operations; Executive Director, Corporate Quality Management; and Executive Director, Quality & Information Systems. She was responsible for quality management and coordinated NCQA and URAC accreditation efforts.

Ms. Adler spent her early career in health care quality, serving as a quality director in two state-run psychiatric centers.

Ms. Adler received her Master’s degree in educational psychology and evaluation from the Catholic University of America and is a Certified Professional in Health Care Quality (CPHQ).