While still in college, Michael Brouthers watched his mother die of cancer. “We knew Mom was dying, and so did she,” he says today. “I have no doubt that she would not have wanted many of the treatments she received to prolong her life. But no one knew what to do, or even how to talk about it. In those days it wasn’t a discussion that people had.”

Throughout his 22-year care in health care management, Michael had many other opportunities to see how the most difficult healthcare situations can be made even more traumatic because families and patients have not communicated their healthcare choices.

Fully aware of the complexities of the healthcare world and the high level of emotions surrounding this delicate area, he was nevertheless determined to find a solution.

Now, that solution is available to millions of Americans and their families. Embark Health, Inc. offers the first and only comprehensive resource through which patients can feel confident that their wishes for their own health care will be respected when they cannot speak for themselves.

As a veteran healthcare executive with more than two decades of experience with health plans and other healthcare firms, Michael brings the ideal package of experience for launching Embark Health.

Most recently, he served as Regional Vice President for UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s largest health plan, with responsibility for developing multi-product partnerships with payers and sales management for public sector and labor accounts.

Prior to joining UnitedHealth Group, Michael was President and CEO of MD-Access, a firm that connected a national network of hospitalist physicians with major pharmaceutical manufacturers.

During four years as CEO of Cogent Healthcare, Michael helped create the market for the emerging hospitalist profession – physicians who specialize in hospital care. Under his leadership, Cogent grew from a start-up firm to a segment leader.

For twelve years before that, Michael held executive positions with Humana and CIGNA, including nine years as Executive Director of Humana - Northeast Florida. During his tenure Humana grew from a tiny entity to the second largest health plan in the area.

Michael earned an MBA in 1982 and a BS in Management Systems Engineering in 1980 from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He also completed significant coursework towards a PhD in Quantitative Marketing at The University of Texas at Dallas.