As Point32Health’s executive vice president and chief public and community affairs officer, Kristin Lewis leads the organization’s strategy and implementation of state and federal health reforms, advises on the impact of political changes on strategic goals and guides the development and implementation of the organization’s communications, community engagement and corporate citizenship strategies. As of June 2025, she also took on the role of president for the Point32Health Foundation, where she oversees grantmaking and community efforts that support nonprofit organizations across Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut. 

We recently caught up with Kristin to discuss her expanded role and how she’s navigating the intersection of community, policy and communications during a time of significant change.

You’ve long overseen the Point32Health Foundation’s work, first as a director on the Foundation board and now as president. How do you envision deepening its impact in this expanded role?

Kristin Lewis: I’m so proud of the work our organization does to provide support to the community. We were recently named to The Civic 50®, which is a national award that recognizes the top socially responsible organizations in the country. They celebrate excellence in employee volunteering, community investment and social impact strategy — areas that our Foundation team really prioritize in their day-to-day work.

I’d love to expand on our work with the community even further by harnessing the expertise of our colleagues. Our colleagues are each experts in their own fields and have a lot of knowledge they can share with nonprofits who may be looking for support in those particular areas. Recently, some members from our marketing team volunteered their time with a local nonprofit who was looking to update their website and marketing materials but didn’t have the resources to take on the work themselves. Our marketing colleagues reviewed the materials, provided feedback on areas to update and will continue to offer support for future needs. While something like food donation might initially come to mind when thinking of volunteer initiatives, skill-based volunteering opportunities support a healthier community as well. With a better functioning website and welcomed marketing materials, this nonprofit will be able to reach and help more people in the community.

Being in both a corporate role and role with the Foundation has also given me a unique perspective and ability to further support our community. For instance, understanding the upcoming Medicaid changes on the policy side surrounding community engagement requirements that will go into effect in 2027, my teams have also been having conversations around how else we can be of support for our members. Is there a way we can leverage our nonprofit network so that if members volunteer, we’re able to track their volunteer hours to meet the requirement? Or if there’s some other way they’re demonstrating that they’re meeting the requirements, how can we bring that together to keep people in coverage? To help, we’re working internally on a government affairs plan and collaborating with nonprofits to make sure people are able to keep their coverage – because coverage helps keep people healthy. 

Community partnerships are central to your work. What have you learned from community organizations this past year that is shaping how Point32Health shows up locally?

KL: Being able to see the direct impact community organizations have is a source of inspiration for us. Often we get mail from nonprofits with updates or they’ll convene backbone organizations here at our office, which allows us to stay more closely connected. Seeing how organizations operate in person is a great learning opportunity as well. For instance, I visited one of the New Hampshire non-profits we collaborate with and it was inspiring to see how they’re supporting their community with expanded services. They’re not just a food pantry providing meals to anyone in the region but actually operate more like a grocery store or market. They also have cooking classes where they bring seniors together or help to guide anyone interested in developing a culinary career. This org thinks outside of the box when it comes to keeping people healthy. They’re not just considering how they provide food but how they can bring people together in community and educate on what healthy options are and how to prepare them. It’s been a wonderful part of being involved with the Foundation and seeing the impact from the support we provide – and a powerful reminder that empowering and guiding healthier lives can happen in many different ways.

As costs continue to rise for members and employers, how are you thinking about affordability and its impact on access to coverage?

KL: It’s going to be really important for us to continue to work with our providers, PBMs, pharmaceutical manufacturers and government partners so that we can do something meaningful with respect to affordability. We continue to hear from members and employers that health care is too expensive, and they’re absolutely right. Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have risen roughly 25% over the past five years, consistently outpacing wage growth. For seniors, Medicare costs have nearly doubled in a decade.

It’s incredibly important that we work together to offer affordable products because access to health coverage matters – it keeps people healthy. And with the new eligibility requirements under Medicaid, it’s going to be difficult for people to keep coverage. An estimated 300,000 members in Massachusetts will lose their MassHealth coverage because of these new requirements. On the commercial side, we have employers with employees who are having a difficult time paying under their deductibles or for the premiums. But we can’t solve that alone. We really need to work closely with our provider partners, our pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) and pharmaceutical manufacturers to think of more affordable ways to provide coverage.

The health care environment continues to shift at both the state and federal levels. How is your team preparing for policy conversations and changes that lie ahead?

KL: The team is very proactive about working with anyone internally and externally to understand any requirements as they’re being proposed or making their way through the legislative process. They are identifying any problematic provisions with regulations or legislation to try and get improvements throughout the process, which includes spending time with legislators, staff and administration officials to really help convey what we think these changes would mean in terms of cost or coverage for our members. So the team really plugs in, relying on the internal expertise of our colleagues to help us understand what any of these changes will mean – either for costs or for how we operationalize some of these requirements. The team also tries to understand how these changes meet our goals and purpose, which guides us as we think about our positioning on certain policy developments. 

You lead teams that operate at the intersection of policy, community and communications. What principles guide your leadership as you navigate such a diverse set of functions?

KL: The principle that guides me most is staying grounded in our purpose and the value we deliver to our members, customers and communities. We're unique in that we are truly independent. We are not owned by a provider; we do not own a PBM; and we are not part of larger national system or association like other local and regional health plans. As an independent, locally governed health plan, we have the flexibility to make decisions close to the communities we serve rather than through a larger national structure.

We’re also a not-for-profit health plan meaning that we do not have shareholders or investors to answer to. That gives us the ability to stay focused on what really matters: offering products and experiences that deliver value to the people we serve. That's what guides my approach across all of these functions. How do we elevate the conversation through thought leadership? How do we help policymakers understand the implications of legislation and regulation? And how do we ensure our community investments reflect who we are as an organization? At the end of the day, it's about making sure there is no question in our members' or communities' minds about our purpose. I see that as both a significant responsibility and a real opportunity.