Stephen Bekanich

Stephen J. Bekanich, M.D., is the co-founder and chief medical officer of Iris Plans, a disease-specific advance care planning service. Prior to this, he served as the CEO of Ascension Health’s Texas ACO. He was the chief medical officer of the health insurance joint venture between Cigna and Ascension Health. Before moving to Austin, he held the rank of associate professor of medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the University of Utah’s Medical Center, where he started and directed their palliative medicine programs. Bekanich is the recipient of awards for medical leadership, innovation in health care, teaching, and patient and family satisfaction. His research is in the field of communication and pain. His greatest joy in life is spending time with his wife and their four children.