New PTAC members, Henish Bhansali and Krishna Ramachandran, will work toward advancing value-based Medicare payment systems and physician care models.

The U.S. Comptroller General, Gene L. Dodaro, announced the inclusion of Indian-American healthcare experts Henish Bhansali and Krishna Ramachandran to the Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC). PTAC is an independent body focused on improving Medicare’s payment structures.

Dodaro stated that both new appointees bring extensive knowledge in value-based care and will hold positions until 2027.

Henish Bhansali, recently appointed as chief medical officer at Medical Home Network, also serves on the board of the National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) and teaches at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health. Board-certified in internal and obesity medicine, Bhansali previously held senior roles at Duly Health and Care and Oak Street Health and earned his medical degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine.

Krishna Ramachandran, senior vice president of Health Transformation and Provider Adoption at Blue Shield of California, brings a strong background in initiatives for healthcare quality and affordability. Formerly, he held executive positions at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and Duly Health and Care and has technical experience from Epic Systems. He holds an MBA from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Additionally, Dodaro extended the terms of current PTAC members Dr. Lawrence R. Kosinski and Dr. Soujanya R. Pulluru to 2027.

“PTAC offers valuable insights to the Department of Health and Human Services to maximize the value of Medicare’s $1 trillion annual budget,” Dodaro said, emphasizing the committee’s significant advisory role in physician payment models.

PTAC, formed under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, aims to improve Medicare’s physician compensation methods, particularly through value-based care strategies. The committee’s recommendations guide the payment models implemented by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).