VP, Medicare Product - Aetna

CVS Health•Hartford, CT

About The Position

The Vice President, Medicare Product sets product strategy and leads Aetna’s complex, multi-segment Medicare portfolio, a business of approximately $90 billion. The role shapes differentiated products, drives portfolio performance, and aligns product decisions with enterprise growth, financial, and customer objectives across Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, Duals, Group Medicare, and related ancillary offerings. The position defines strategic direction for product design, innovation, lifecycle management, and portfolio performance across a national footprint, integrating business strategy, market opportunity, product economics, regulatory requirements, clinical and operational considerations, and customer needs. The Vice President is also accountable for product implementation and governance, annual bid and product filings, vendor management, and execution in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements. As a senior leader and thought partner across the Medicare organization, this executive influences portfolio positioning, product evolution, implementation readiness, and go-to-market strategy. The role requires leadership in a highly matrixed organization and alignment across Product, Finance, Actuarial, Sales, Marketing, Operations, Pharmacy, Network, Clinical, Compliance, Legal, Government Affairs, and Technology. The position reports to the SVP & President of Medicare and leads a large product organization.

Requirements

15+ years of healthcare experience leading complex product portfolios and driving results in a highly regulated, large-scale healthcare environment.
Strong knowledge of Medicare, especially Individual Medicare.
Demonstrated success setting strategy and leading a large-scale Medicare product portfolio, including product design, economics, lifecycle management, regulatory complexity, and implementation.
Strong understanding of Medicare product economics, including relationships among product design, pricing, affordability, growth, margin, and portfolio performance.
Enterprise orientation and ability to connect product strategy with business performance, market opportunity, customer value, and long-term growth.
Proven success leading major product initiatives from strategy through implementation, including complex launches, filings, operating-model integration, and downstream execution.
Ability to influence senior executive decision-making and build alignment across highly matrixed organizations.
Strong judgment in balancing growth, financial performance, competitive positioning, regulatory requirements, customer needs, and execution risk.
Experience leading and developing large, high-performing teams and building leadership capability and organizational bench strength.
Strong financial and strategic acumen, including experience with product economics, operating plans, investment tradeoffs, and portfolio-level performance decisions.
Exceptional executive presence, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
Credibility as a senior Medicare thought leader who can represent the business with clients, industry stakeholders, and policy and regulatory audiences.

Responsibilities

Set the Medicare portfolio’s product strategy and 1-to-5-year strategic roadmap, aligning priorities with growth objectives, market opportunities, customer value, financial performance, and enterprise strategy.
Lead portfolio strategy across Medicare Advantage, Part D, Duals, Group Medicare, and ancillary products.
Shape product design, differentiation, innovation, and lifecycle strategies to strengthen competitive positioning and portfolio performance.
Guide portfolio decisions and investment tradeoffs, balancing growth, affordability, financial performance, regulatory requirements, customer needs, and execution risk.
Monitor market dynamics, competitive trends, customer needs, and regulatory developments and translate them into product strategies.
Drive product portfolio performance, focusing on growth, margin, affordability, quality, and customer value.
Translate enterprise and Medicare business priorities into product strategies and execution plans.
Lead cross-functional product initiatives from strategy through implementation and market execution.
Build alignment across Actuarial, Finance, Operations, Clinical, Pharmacy, Provider Network, Sales, Marketing, Compliance, Legal, Government Affairs, and Technology.
Partner with senior leaders to ensure product decisions are financially sound, operationally feasible, and aligned with Medicare priorities.
Hold executive accountability for product implementation readiness and downstream execution across the Medicare portfolio.
Oversee the operational execution of more than 700 annual bid and product filings, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and disciplined governance.
Ensure filed benefits and product changes are accurately translated into systems, operations, vendor requirements, and member-facing experiences.
Establish governance and controls for regulated, high-risk processes where execution accuracy is critical.
Oversee key vendors supporting product delivery and ensure execution aligns with business and regulatory requirements.
Partner with Government Affairs, Legal, Compliance, and senior business leaders on Medicare policy developments, product implications, and strategic positioning.
Serve as a senior Medicare product subject matter expert in client discussions, industry forums, and select regulatory conversations.
Represent the Medicare business with external stakeholders and bring market perspectives into portfolio strategy and decision-making.
Lead a large product organization; build, develop, and retain high-performing leadership teams and strengthen organizational capability and succession depth.
Establish a leadership culture centered on strategic thinking, accountability, collaboration, execution excellence, and talent development.
Lead through influence across a matrixed enterprise and create alignment among stakeholders with differing priorities.