Darrell M. Gray II, MD, MPH is President and CEO of Wellpoint Maryland, one of the largest Medicaid managed care organizations in Maryland and wholly owned subsidiary of Elevance Health. In this role, Dr. Gray works to ensure Wellpoint’s nearly 330,000 members have access to high-quality care and achieve equitable, whole health outcomes. He also stands committed to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of operations, while enhancing processes and strengthening relationships with Wellpoint’s network of more than 30,000 care providers and the diverse communities across Maryland.
Dr. Gray is a highly accomplished and respected senior executive with proven abilities to lead tremendous growth and transformational change. He previously served as chief health equity officer of Elevance Health, during which time successfully led the execution of comprehensive strategies to advance health equity through a whole-health approach (addressing physical, behavioral, social and pharmacy needs) across Elevance Health’s tens of millions of members, provider networks and respective communities. Notably, his efforts led to Elevance Health attaining the full, three-year National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Health Equity Accreditation for 22 of their Medicaid health plans in 2022 including Wellpoint, an industry-first.
Prior to joining Elevance Health, Gray was an associate professor of medicine at The Ohio State University, where he served as a practicing gastroenterologist and medical director of healthy communities for The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, as well as deputy director of the Center for Cancer Health Equity at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. His work leveraged meaningful partnerships across public and private sectors in Ohio and nationally to reduce health inequities and address health-related social needs among diverse populations. Notably, he co-led Ohio State’s health equity response to COVID-19 and co-designed the health enterprise’s antiracism action plan.
Additionally, Gray is co-founder of the Association of Black Gastroenterologists and Hepatologists and the immediate past chair of the American College of Gastroenterology Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. He has published widely, including high-impact peer-reviewed journals such as Nature Reviews, Lancet, and Cancer. He’s received numerous awards including the National Minority Quality Forum 40 Under 40 Leader in Minority Health Award, the Ohio Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. Health Equity and Awareness Award, and the 2020 Healio Disruptive Innovators Health Equity Award. Nonetheless, he cites his roles as husband to Brittney and father to Harper, Ella, Noah, and Zoë as his crowning achievements.
Gray is a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and graduate of Morehouse College and Howard University College of Medicine. He completed his residency at Duke University Medical Center and gastroenterology fellowship at Washington University, subsequently earning a master’s degree in public health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health as a Commonwealth Fund Fellow.