MELISSA HOLMQUIST

MARQUETTE — Melissa Holmquist has been named the chief operating officer at U.P. Health Plan, according to an announcement by Dennis Smith, CEO of UPHP.

Holmquist, a Crystal Falls native, is in her 14th year with the company, being promoted from her current position as director of government programs.

UPHP, a managed care organization providing Medicaid and Medicare services to members in the Upper Peninsula, has grown rapidly since 2015, adding new product lines such as MI Health Link and increasing its Medicare Advantage membership.

Chief operating officer will be the seventh position Holmquist has had within the company, after having first applied for employment at Upper Peninsula Health Plan while she was a graduate student at Northern Michigan University.

“UPHP has been a great company to work for. I’m excited for this new opportunity to provide more leadership and share the knowledge that I have gained throughout my career. I look forward to growing our community collaboration efforts and working with organizations that meet the social needs of our members,” Holmquist said.

In her role as COO, Holmquist will report to the president and CEO, and will continue to serve as a member of the senior management team.

She now has complete responsibility for government programs, physician services, credentialing, customer services, reception, and advocacy with the governmental units.

“We are excited to have Missie take on additional leadership responsibilities as we continue to scale our programs to serve greater numbers of individuals including those with complex needs,” Smith noted. “There is a tremendous opportunity to build on our history and make UPHP operationally stronger.”

Upper Peninsula Health Plan currently serves more than 47,000 members across five product lines — Michigan Medicaid, MIChild, Children with Special Health Care Services, MI Health Link, and Medicare Advantage — and its network exceeds 900 providers.