Post Author: Edward Anselm, MD

Edward Anselm is a board-certified internist with a long-standing focus on public health, tobacco control, and preventive care. He earned his medical degree from the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University and completed his internal medicine residency at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. Over the past three decades, Dr. Anselm has served in senior leadership roles across clinical, corporate, and managed-care settings, including chief medical officer positions at HIP Health Plan of New York, FidelisCare, and Health Republic Insurance of New York.
Recently retired from his role as medical director at Aetna, Dr. Anselm continues to teach at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai as a clinical assistant professor. His current work focuses on strengthening reimbursement pathways for tobacco cessation and preventive services, helping clinicians integrate evidence-based care that improves patient outcomes while supporting practice sustainability. His research has been published in the American Journal of Accountable Care, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, AJPM Focus, and Health Affairs Forefront, including articles on tobacco control in accountable care, underbilling of cessation services, and the financial and quality benefits of treating tobacco use as a clinical priority.
Dr. Anselm’s educational and policy work is shared through EdwardAnselmMD.com and The Anselm Nicotine Prescription, with professional updates available on LinkedIn.

Edward Anselm is a board-certified internist with a long-standing focus on public health, tobacco control, and preventive care. He earned his medical degree from the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University and completed his internal medicine residency at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. Over the past three decades, Dr. Anselm has served in senior leadership roles across clinical, corporate, and managed-care settings, including chief medical officer positions at HIP Health Plan of New York, FidelisCare, and Health Republic Insurance of New York.
Recently retired from his role as medical director at Aetna, Dr. Anselm continues to teach at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai as a clinical assistant professor. His current work focuses on strengthening reimbursement pathways for tobacco cessation and preventive services, helping clinicians integrate evidence-based care that improves patient outcomes while supporting practice sustainability. His research has been published in the American Journal of Accountable Care, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, AJPM Focus, and Health Affairs Forefront, including articles on tobacco control in accountable care, underbilling of cessation services, and the financial and quality benefits of treating tobacco use as a clinical priority.
Dr. Anselm’s educational and policy work is shared through EdwardAnselmMD.com and The Anselm Nicotine Prescription, with professional updates available on LinkedIn.
As major public health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and state health departments face reductions in scope and resources, a unique opportunity arises for health insurers to take a leading role in improving public health, while also enhancing their own reputations and financial sustainability.
Consider tobacco use, the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, …
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It was Christmas Eve 2005, and the health plan was closing at 3 p.m. By 4 p.m., the nurses, doctors, pharmacists, and support staff who handled utilization management for HIP Health Plan were already on their way home. My usual role at the health insurance company involved creating quality profiles for physicians caring for our roughly 1 million members. But that afternoon, I was covering hospital admissions so colleagues could …
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