Association's Highest Honor Recognizes Contributions to Dental Benefits Industry

/EINPresswire.com/ -- DALLAS, TX--(Marketwired - October 06, 2016) - Kirk E. Andrews recently received the 2016 Gabryl Award, the dental benefits industry's highest honor, presented by the National Association of Dental Plans (NADP), for his leadership and representation of multi-line carriers' perspectives regarding key health care reform issues and their impact on the dental benefits industry.

NADP presented the Gabryl Award during CONVERGE 2016, its recent annual conference in San Antonio, Texas. The Gabryl Award honors long-term volunteer achievements that help NADP fulfill its mission to promote and advance the dental benefits industry as well as improve consumer access to affordable, quality dental care. NADP Gabryl Award recipients are nominated by volunteers and selected by the Board of Directors.

"The breadth of Kirk's industry and business knowledge provided an understanding on the complexity of the issues that proved invaluable to NADP and the dental benefits industry at a critical time of change. We were honored to have someone of his caliber and knowledge in a leadership position for many years and are proud to award him the 2016 Gabryl Award," said NADP Executive Director Evelyn F. Ireland.

For more than 5 years, Kirk Andrews strengthened and informed NADP's advocacy positions on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by representing the multi-line carriers' perspective on the Commission on Advocacy Policy (CAP) and its predecessor volunteer group, the Health Care Reform (HCR) Task Force. Andrews joined the HCR Task Force in 2010. His insights were critical to the development of policy positions that balanced the needs of both standalone and multi-line carriers offering dental coverage during this critical period of change.

Andrews was nominated for the Gabryl Award by three NADP volunteer groups: the Commission on Advocacy Policy (CAP), Education Commission and Government Relations WorkGroup (GRW).

Andrews' volunteer service includes 5 years on the NADP Board of Directors with service as Board Treasurer from 2011 through 2015. From 2014 to March 2016, he also co-chaired the HCR Task Force as it transitioned to CAP. Additional volunteer service included the Big Data Task Force (2015-2016), Government Relations Commission/WorkGroup (2013-2016), and the NADPac Committee (2012-2013). As a Board member, he also served as Board liaison to the Communications WorkGroup for 2 years (2013-2015).

Andrews has served as vice president of Health Care Reform for the Specialty Benefits Products of UnitedHealthcare, president of Dental Benefit Providers of California, vice president and chief financial officer of PacifiCare Dental & Vision and executive vice president of Business Operations for SmileCare Family Dentistry. He began his career as a Certified Public Accountant with KPMG Peat Marwick and has served on the boards of many publicly and privately held companies. Today, Andrews is enjoying retirement and spending more time with family, friends, hobbies, and exploring new frontiers.

"At UnitedHealthcare, Kirk worked to establish our company as a leader in the dental benefits market by helping our customers navigate the complexities of the evolving health care market for dental coverage," said Philip Kaufman, president of UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits.

About NADP
National Association of Dental Plans (NADP), a Texas nonprofit corporation with headquarters in Dallas, Texas, is the "representative and recognized resource of the dental benefits industry." NADP is the only national trade organization that includes the full spectrum of dental benefits companies operating in the United States. NADP's members provide Dental HMO, Dental PPO, Dental Indemnity and Discount Dental products to more than 177 million Americans, approximately 92 percent of all Americans with dental benefits.

CONTACT:
Evelyn Ireland
Executive Director
(972) 458-6998, x101
eireland@nadp.org