Speaker's Profile

Suzanne Kunis is President and Chief Executive Officer of NovaWell, an affiliate of Horizon  Healthcare Services, Inc. She also serves as Vice President of Behavioral Health Solutions for  Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. She brings over 30 years of experience in the health  care industry with a significant focus on behavioral health. Suzanne is a registered nurse and  moved from care delivery to health care management early in her career.  

Suzanne is a nationally recognized industry expert and leads NovaWell, an organization born out of  her success at Horizon. She was recruited to Horizon in March 2017 to develop and lead Horizon’s  first ever internal Behavioral Health strategy and team. Suzanne is responsible for all behavioral  health strategic development and execution including the organization’s commitment to the  integration of physical and behavioral health. Suzanne led the successful insourcing of behavioral  health and a cultural and philosophical shift and commitment of integration within Horizon.  NovaWell will be helping other health plans to achieve similar results. Suzanne is the ultimate  behavioral health champion – the opioid crisis and continued battle to eliminate mental health stigma  are priority items on her agenda and she works tirelessly to drive the message that “mental health is  health” nationwide.  

Prior to joining Horizon BCBSNJ, Suzanne served for 22 years as Senior Vice President of Behavioral  Health Services for Magellan Health Services. She was the business owner for Magellan’s health  plan (Commercial, Medicare and Medicaid) and employer client relationships. She was responsible  for oversight and management of nationwide service delivery including member services, clinical  operations, network development and management, quality, sales, EAP and finance. During her  tenure with Magellan, Suzanne developed a deep understanding of the behavioral health care issues  facing our country and the long overdue recognition of the impact of behavioral health issues on  comorbid medical conditions.  

Suzanne also served as Senior Vice President of Account Management and Implementations for  ComplexCare Solutions (CCS). CCS provided in-home risk adjustment assessments and care  management services for its health plan clients.  

After graduating from Thomas Jefferson University, College of Allied Health Sciences in  Philadelphia, Suzanne began her nursing career at the East Orange Veterans  Administration Hospital. She then began a 12-year career journey with which was then Blue Cross  Blue Shield of New Jersey where she served many roles including Vice President of the Individual  Market segment.