Dan Liljenquist
State senateUtah
District23rd
Term start2009
Term end2011
PredecessorDan Eastman
SuccessorTodd Weiler
Birth nameDaniel Redford Liljenquist
Birth dateJuly 10, 1974 (age 52)
Birth placeNashville, Tennessee, U.S.
OccupationExecutive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Intermountain Health
SpouseBrooke Davies
EducationBrigham Young University (BA)
University of Chicago (JD)

Daniel Redford Liljenquist is an American healthcare executive and former member of the Utah State Senate.

Early life and education

Daniel Liljenquist was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to John E. Liljenquist and Colleen Redford Liljenquist while his father was teaching at Vanderbilt University. His family moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho, when he was five years old.[1]

Liljenquist graduated from Skyline High School before attending Brigham Young University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics in 1998. He went on to study at the University of Chicago Law School, receiving a J.D. degree in 2001.[2]

Career

After graduating from the University of Chicago Law School, Liljenquist joined Bain & Company[3] as a consultant in 2001. He worked in the firm's Dallas office until 2003.[citation needed]

In 2005, Liljenquist became president and chief operating officer of FOCUS Services. He sold his interests in the company in 2011 and founded Liljenquist Strategies in 2012, a consulting firm specializing in public sector pensions and benefits reform. That same year, he began contributing a weekly column to the Deseret News.[4]

Intermountain Health

Liljenquist joined Intermountain Healthcare in 2012 as director of special projects within the Shared Accountability organization, focusing on population health.[citation needed] In 2017, he was appointed vice president of the Enterprise Initiative Office.[citation needed] He later became chief strategy officer,[5] overseeing strategy, corporate development, government relations, consumer experience, strategic partnerships, and digital technology services.[citation needed]

Civica Rx, CivicaScript, and Graphite Health

In addition to his work at Intermountain Healthcare, Liljenquist has been involved in several healthcare initiatives aimed at expanding access, affordability, and transparency.[6] He played a leading role in establishing CivicaScript, an affiliated organization dedicated to retail generic medications.[7]

Liljenquist serves as chairman of the board for Civica Rx and CivicaScript.[8] He is also a board member of the Civica Foundation, the Equable Institute,[9] and CenterPoint Legacy Theatre.[10] He previously served as a board member of the Lucy Burns Institute and as board chair of Graphite Health.[citation needed]

Political career

Utah State Senate

In November 2008, Liljenquist was elected to the Utah State Senate from the 23rd district, receiving 70 percent of the vote.[11]

During his tenure, he served on the Appropriations, Standing, and Interim Committees.[12] He sponsored SB 126, which prioritized performance over seniority in public employee rehiring decisions, and SB 63, which restructured Utah's pension system by moving new hires to a defined contribution plan capped at ten percent.[13]

Liljenquist was criticized in 2011 by Freedom Path and others for missing 24 percent of Senate votes.[14]

Following a 22 percent decline in the pension fund's value during the 2008 financial crisis, which resulted in a 30 percent funding gap, Liljenquist introduced reforms affecting employees hired after July 1, 2011. He also sponsored SB 43, which ended "double-dipping" and eliminated pensions for state legislators.[15]

In 2011, he sponsored SB 180, Utah's Medicaid reform bill, which passed unanimously.[16] The legislation capped Medicaid spending growth to the rate of the general fund, transitioned the program from fee-for-service to managed care, and made Utah the first state to cap Medicaid growth on a per-member basis. The reforms were projected to save $2.5 billion over seven years.[17]

Liljenquist resigned from the Utah State Senate in December 2011.[18]

2012 United States Senate campaign

After resigning from the state Senate, Liljenquist announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in January 2012. He challenged incumbent Orrin Hatch and was one of ten Republican candidates in the race. At the state convention, he received 40.81 percent of the delegate vote,[19] forcing Hatch into his first primary election since 1976.[20] Hatch went on to win both the primary and the general election.[21]

Awards and recognition

In 2021 and 2022, Modern Healthcare named Liljenquist among the "100 Most Influential People in Healthcare."[22][23] The publication also recognized him as one of its "Top 25 Innovators"[24] and included him in "The Collaborative: 45 Healthcare Leaders Who Exemplify Collaboration Created in Service to the Patient" in 2021.[25]

In 2011, Governing magazine named him "Public Official of the Year."[26] That same year, FreedomWorks named him its "National Legislative Entrepreneur of the Year,"[27] and State Budget Solutions recognized him as "National Legislator of the Year." The Utah Technology Council presented him with a similar honor in 2010.[28] The Utah Taxpayers Association named him "Taxpayer Advocate of the Year" in both 2010 and 2011.[29]

On June 22, 2025, the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) presented Liljenquist with the Richard L. Clarke Board of Directors Award.[30]

Personal life

Liljenquist and his wife, Brooke, have six children and live in Utah.[31]

In June 2008, Liljenquist was injured in the Aéreo Ruta Maya crash in Guatemala. He had been traveling with CHOICE Humanitarian when the plane crashed in a field following an engine failure. Eleven of the fourteen people on board were killed. Liljenquist survived, but sustained multiple fractures to his right leg and left ankle.[32]

References

  1. ^ "Dan Liljenquist rising from ashes of plane crash". Deseret News. 2011-01-24. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  2. ^ "Dan Liljenquist". Governing. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  3. ^ "The Politician Who's Not Afraid to Love Bain". Yahoo News. 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  4. ^ "Dan Liljenquist: Tips for writing a weekly column". Deseret News. 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  5. ^ "Modern Healthcare Magazine Names Intermountain Healthcare's Dan Liljenquist to Top 25 Innovators List". Modern Healthcare Magazine Names Intermountain Healthcare's Dan Liljenquist to Top 25 Innovators List. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  6. ^ Kodjak, Alison (2018-09-06). "Hospitals Prepare To Launch Their Own Drug Company To Fight High Prices And Shortages". NPR. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  7. ^ Silverman, Ed (2025-05-21). "Civica touts a study that 'validates' its model for selling low-cost generics". STAT. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  8. ^ "Board of Directors | Civica Rx | Inspiring leaders from the pharmaceutical, healthcare and philanthropic communities". Civica Rx. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  9. ^ Roberts, Andrea Suozzo, Alec Glassford, Ash Ngu, Brandon (2013-05-09). "Equable Institute - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  10. ^ "Dan Liljenquist". CenterPoint Legacy Theatre. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  11. ^ News, Deseret (2008-06-24). "Unofficial primary election results". DeseretNews.com. Archived 2016-12-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  12. ^ "Utah State Senate". www.utahsenate.org. Archived 2012-05-08 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  13. ^ "SB0063". le.utah.gov. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  14. ^ Trygstad, Kyle (June 11, 2012). "Utah: Freedom Path Ad Hits Dan Liljenquist for Missed Votes". Roll Call. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  15. ^ Roche, Lisa Riley (March 2, 2010). "Utah Legislature: State retirement changes gain final approval | Deseret News". www.deseretnews.com. Archived 2010-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  16. ^ "SB0180". le.utah.gov. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  17. ^ Edwards, Paul S. (May 6, 2011). "Paul S. Edwards: Utah's thoughtful approach to Medicaid reform". www.deseretnews.com. Archived September 6, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  18. ^ Dec. 16, Jared Page | Posted- & A.m, 2011 at 7:18. "Liljenquist resigns from Utah Senate". www.ksl.com. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  19. ^ "Orrin Hatch narrowly forced into Utah Senate primary". ABC News. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  20. ^ "Sen. Orrin Hatch forced into primary for first time since '76, faces Dan Liljenquist in June". Deseret News. 2012-04-21. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  21. ^ "Sen. Orrin Hatch beats back Tea Party challenge - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2012-06-26. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  22. ^ "100 Most Influential People in Healthcare - 2022". www.modernhealthcare.com. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  23. ^ "100 Most Influential People in Healthcare - 2021". www.modernhealthcare.com. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  24. ^ "Top 25 Innovators - 2021". www.modernhealthcare.com. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  25. ^ "The Collaborative". www.modernhealthcare.com. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  26. ^ "Public Officials of the Year 2011". Governing. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  27. ^ "Liljenquist wins award from national tea party group". Deseret News. 2011-11-18. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  28. ^ Government Reform, U.S. House Committee of Oversight (March 15, 2010). "Testimony*of*Utah*State*Senator*Dan*Liljenquist: House*Committee*on*Oversight*and*Government*Reform". U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. pp. https://oversight.house.gov/. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  29. ^ Association, Utah Taxpayers (June 2010). "Niederhauser, Liljenquist, Harrington Receive Taxpayer Awards". Utah Taxpayers Association Media Release. pp. https://utahtaxpayers.org/. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
  30. ^ Association (HFMA), Healthcare Financial Management (2025-06-23). "Healthcare Financial Management Association recognizes Dan Liljenquist for contributions to healthcare". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  31. ^ "Dan Liljenquist rising from ashes of plane crash". Deseret News. 2011-01-24. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  32. ^ "Dan Liljenquist finds strength in hard work, learning and faith". BYU Daily Universe. 2015-04-23. Retrieved 2025-06-23.