Her Story
About Marilon
I've been in healthcare for over 30 years, and my journey started when I was young and always interested in health. I went into the Air Force and became a flight nurse, which gave me the best of both worlds. After coming home from the Air Force, I had seen so much and gained tremendous experience on the service side, but I also liked the administration side because I knew that's where policy changes and things get taken care of. I wanted to be able to make a difference for our soldiers - they serve every day, so they deserve the best care, and being able to make changes and make their lives just a little bit better was just a win-win for me. I became president of OMB Medical, a government contracting company for all the branches of service, where we placed everything in the hospital from pharmacy to surgery, serving over 500,000 soldiers and men and women across the Navy and their 13 TRICARE clinics in Portsmouth. That company was sold in December 2024, and I wanted to go back to the private sector and go back to school as well. Now I work for U.S. Oncology, which is part of McKesson, in a very specialized department called CAR-T cellular therapy in an outpatient community setting. We're one of the first clinics on the East Coast to bring it to an outpatient setting, which is normally reserved for institutions like Duke University or hospital settings. What I do is negotiate contracts with the big payers like Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and UnitedCare for these treatments. The product that's infused can cost anywhere from $500,000 to $700,000 for one infusion, so each patient has to be negotiated because CAR-T is so new to the outpatient setting. My top priority is when a patient comes in and gets approved - I go to work to make sure I can get that contract signed so they can get their care, usually within 7 to 10 days. I can have 10 or 12 cases going at once, and I've built wonderful relationships with our payers because I'm that type of person that's going to email and email until I get it back. It's personal for me - I lost my older sister to colon cancer in 2020, so each patient that comes to me, whether I know them or not, is still personal because I know how important this treatment is for them. The things I do on a daily basis for each and every patient are probably the most rewarding and significant for me, because I truly know it is making a difference between life and death every day.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Marilon
01What do you attribute your success to?
I've been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with some wonderful people in my life, not just in the healthcare field on the administration side, but also in the legislative side, meeting some of the lawmakers and helping change those laws on the government affairs side. It's been a blend of just being able to change and make a difference. I think mentorship has been very important - I do a lot of mentoring. I also write grants for nonprofits, and I do it for our church as well as some other organizations. Giving back, I think, is probably one of my biggest contributions. I love giving back, and I love making a difference. I've been truly blessed to have been able to do the things that I've been able to do and accomplish in my life, but the things I do on a daily basis for each and every patient are probably the most rewarding and significant for me, because I truly know it is making a difference between life and death every day.
02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest opportunities in my field right now is bringing CAR-T cellular therapy to outpatient community settings to make it more affordable and accessible to the community. Normally, this treatment is reserved for someone who has commercial Blue Cross Blue Shield or Medicare Advantage - the top, high-end insurance - because the product can cost anywhere from $500,000 to $700,000 for one infusion. We're one of the first clinics on the East Coast to bring it to an outpatient setting, and we've had about a 70% success rate. After I graduate, I would love to consult more to help a lot of these specialty clinics that are bringing CAR-T cellular therapy to their clinics but aren't sure how to do that, or how to reach out to the payers and get them involved. I want to see more clinics be able to offer this, not just in oncology but in cardiology and a lot of different areas. That's really one of the platforms I want to walk away with - to be able to connect them in managed care across the specialties.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Making a difference is the most important value to me in both my work and personal life. In my job, my top priority is when a patient comes in - once they've been approved, I go to work to make sure I can get that contract signed so they can get their care. Each patient that comes to me is personal, whether I know them or not, because I lost my older sister to colon cancer in 2020, so I know how important this treatment is for them. I'm that type of person that's going to email and email until I get it back - I am all over you. The things I do on a daily basis for each and every patient are probably the most rewarding and significant for me because I truly know it is making a difference between life and death every day. Beyond my work, I have a family - I have 3 sons and a wonderful husband who's a retired Navy Chief. My parents are still living, so I contribute a lot to their care as well. Giving back is probably one of my biggest contributions. I love giving back and making a difference. My husband and I co-founded Mercy and Grace in Action, and I write grants for nonprofits including our church. Between that, our own organization, and work, I am always doing something to help others.
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