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Kate Renwick-Espinosa and Kirk Rothrock.
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WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Association of Vision Care Plans (NAVCP) announced during its April 20 board meeting webinar that Kirk Rothrock, chief executive officer of Versant Health, has assumed the chairman seat of the board of directors for the 2020-2022 term. Rothrock succeeds Lukas Ruecker, president of EyeMed Vision Care,  who served as NAVCP chairman since 2018. Kate Renwick-Espinosa, president of VSP Vision Care and NAVCP’s secretary/treasurer, will assume the chairwoman-elect position, according to the association’s announcement this week. “As the unified voice of the industry, the advocacy NAVCP provides is essential in advancing the important and valuable role managed vision care has in the health care ecosystem,” Rothrock said in the announcement.

“It’s as important now as it has ever been to remove barriers to accessing quality eyecare. Our member organizations will continue to work collaboratively to drive improvements in the vision care experience for our members and for the eyecare professionals who serve them.”

Versant Health is one of the nation’s leading managed vision care companies serving more than 33 million members nationwide through its Davis Vision and Superior Vision plans.

Ruecker, during his two-year term, shifted NAVCP’s focus to three key areas: advocacy, collaboration and administrative simplification. This realignment resulted in the development of the NAVCP retail council, established efficiencies within the NAVCP Credentialing Alliance and activated an advocacy strategy that increased the voice of managed vision care at the state and federal level.

“We as an association are navigating uncharted waters related to COVID-19 and the impact on the managed vision care industry,” Julian Roberts, NAVCP’s executive director, said. “NAVCP is fortunate to have senior leadership that will allow us to navigate this national emergency and emerge with a stronger voice ensuring that decision-makers understand that vision care is essential health care.”