Our Mission is Simple
To understand and improve the value of the healthcare our employees and families receive through a business coalition focusing on
the quality and cost-effectiveness of care.
Our Vision
To achieve better care for each of our employees and families and better health for all in our community, all at the best possible cost.
To make our community more attractive to growth by offering high-value healthcare.
To make quality and price fully transparent so each of us may be the wisest purchaser of healthcare.
History of WellOK
Stan Schwartz MD spent his entire medical career working on the provider side of healthcare delivery. In 2014, he transitioned to consulting on healthcare matters for The Holmes Organisation, a well-known regional brokerage and benefits advisory firm.
Employers pay an outsized role in American healthcare. More than half the people of the United States are covered by employer-sponsored health plans that purchase care on behalf of their covered employees and dependents.
In 2015, he and James Millaway, a producer at The Holmes Organisation, explored the formation of a local business coalition on health. More than 30 states and metropolitan areas already had coalitions. Through what is now known as the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, they reached out to coalition directors in Iowa, Arizona and Wyoming for guidance on how to assemble and start a local coalition.
With the enthusiasm and help from QuikTrip, the City of Tulsa and the George Kaiser Family Foundation, WellOK was formed and incorporated as a 501(c)3 charitable organization in February 2015. It’s grown over the years to represent dozens of employer members. Later, healthcare providers joined as stakeholder members.
WellOK’s Board of Directors comprises seven representatives from the employer-member companies.
In 2022, WellOK began a collaboration with Center for Health Systems Innovation at Oklahoma State University and brought on Cari Marshall, a long-time supporter of WellOK, as Executive Director.
The mission then remains the same mission today: To understand and improve the value of the healthcare our employees and families receive through a business coalition focusing on the quality and cost-effectiveness of care.
WellOK, The Oklahoma Business Coalition on Health, is proud to be affiliated with Oklahoma State University – Center for Health Systems Innovation. Positioned between the School of Business and the School of Medicine, we truly are at the intersection of business and health.
