Geisinger names Karena Weikel chief actuary for health plan
Danville, Pa. – Karena Weikel has been named chief actuary for Geisinger Health Plan (GHP).
Weikel has been vice president of risk and revenue management and actuarial services at GHP since 2015 and interim chief actuary since Kurt Wrobel left the role in May when he was named president of the health plan.
“Since starting at Geisinger Health Plan 19 years ago as an actuary intern, Karena has been instrumental in many vital initiatives to make healthcare more affordable and improve the health of our members,” said Wrobel. “I’m excited to see her take on this new role as the next step in her incredible career at Geisinger Health Plan.”
As chief actuary, Weikel is responsible for managing Geisinger’s overall cost of care, trend mitigation, vendor relations, underwriting, provider and medical economics, risk adjustment, operational and regulatory reporting, pricing, rate filing, trend analysis, reserving and organization-wide financial analytics for all lines of business.
“I’ve been very fortunate to find a career I love right in my home area,” Weikel said. “I’m grateful for the opportunities Geisinger has provided me and the support of leadership, my colleagues, team members and family. I’m passionate and committed to my role in helping Geisinger provide affordable health insurance products for our community.”
In her career at GHP, Weikel also served as director of actuarial services and actuarial informatics and associate vice president of clinical informatics.
Weikel earned the Fellow, Academy for Healthcare Management (FAHM) and Certified Self-Funding Specialist (CSFS) designations and is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA), a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA) and is currently pursuing her fellowship certification.
She is a graduate of Shamokin Area High School and Bloomsburg University with a bachelor’s in mathematics and secondary education.
About Geisinger
Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the non-profit system generates $10 billion in annual revenues across 134 care sites - including 10 hospital campuses, and Geisinger Health Plan, with 600,000 members in commercial and government plans. The Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and conducts more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With 26,000 employees, including 1,600 employed physicians, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $14 billion to the state’s economy. On March 31, 2024, Geisinger became the first member of Risant Health, a new nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country. Learn more at geisinger.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.
