Dan Liljenquist, JD
The Bain Strategist Inside Intermountain
EVP & Chief Strategy Officer, Intermountain Health
Overview
A Bain-trained strategist who wrote Utah's Medicaid growth cap as a state legislator — the first state Medicaid cap in the nation — then became chief strategist for Intermountain Health, one of the nation's largest nonprofit systems. Intermountain owns SelectHealth (a Medicare Advantage insurer, 1M+ members) and Castell ($86.7M in Medicare ACO savings in 2023, second-highest nationally). He advises CMS on Medicare Advantage sustainability while his employer profits directly from MA contracts.
Career Arc
Professional Timeline
Current
EVP & Chief Strategy Officer
Intermountain Health
2009–2011
Utah State Senator, R
2012
US Senate primary candidate, Utah
2001–2003
Management Consultant
Bain & Company Dallas
Business Interests & Affiliations
- •Intermountain Health — $15B+ nonprofit, 33 hospitals, 385 clinics, 3,800+ physicians.
- •SelectHealth — Intermountain's MA insurer, 1M+ members in UT, ID, NV, CO.
- •Castell — Intermountain's ACO, $86.7M Medicare savings in 2023, shared $44M with providers.
- •Civica Rx — architect and board chair. Nonprofit generic drug company, 80 medications, 1,500+ hospitals.
- •Graphite Health — nonprofit health data interoperability platform, board chair.
- •UnitedHealthcare ACO partnership for MA members.
- •Federal lobbying: $230,000 in 2024. InterMountain PAC: $227,572 in 2024 cycle.
Red Flags
Conflicts & Concerns
The MA conflict is the most material. Advises CMS on "Medicare Advantage sustainability" while Intermountain owns SelectHealth (MA insurer) and Castell ($86.7M in Medicare savings). Every recommendation on MA payment rates directly affects Intermountain revenue.
Oversaw Intermountain's Government Relations team running the $230K/year federal lobbying operation — then moved to advise the agency being lobbied.
As Utah state senator, wrote Medicaid cap legislation, then went to work for a system that collects that Medicaid revenue. Classic revolving door, executed with sophistication.
Dual role: chaired Civica Rx while serving as top strategist for one of its founding member organizations.
Physician-Owned Hospital Relevance
Intermountain is exactly the type of large nonprofit system whose market dominance was protected by the Section 6001 POH ban. No public statements from Liljenquist on physician-owned hospitals were found. His advisory role on MA policy directly serves Intermountain's SelectHealth MA revenue.
Sources