Photo: Cubellis, Melania
Pooja Ika is the founder and CEO of eternalHealth. At the age of 23, she was the youngest woman to launch a new Medicare Advantage Health Plan in the United States. She has already been recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 Local List: Boston.
A 2019 Babson College graduate, Pooja founded eternalHealth to deliver high quality, affordable care to her fellow Massachusetts residents and beyond. Committed to doing things the right way, eternalHealth is built on trust, transparency, and integrity. Pooja has been working tirelessly to be make healthcare accessible for all, while also acting as an advocate and educator for her members. Driven to make eternalHealth a catalyst for change in the health insurance industry, Pooja is not scared to tackle what some might call impossible.
Pooja has brought together a diverse and passionate team that are committed to making a difference. Her commitment to diversity and inclusion can be seen at all levels of the organization starting with the workforce and going all the way up to the Board of Directors and Investors. In addition to fostering a diverse work environment, 50% of the entire organization are woman. Her vision for the company has attracted individuals like John Sculley, former CEO of Apple and Pepsi, who serves as Chairman of the Board for eternalHealth.
Although she officially launched eternalHealth in the latter half of 2020, Pooja has been surrounded by the healthcare industry for as long as she can remember. Born and raised in Massachusetts, she credits her father for instilling in her a passion for entrepreneurship, and her mother, who is a physician, for her love for healthcare and her commitment to always placing the member at the center of every decision eternalHealth makes. This passion and commitment to make a positive difference has shaped her into who she is today: a resilient, fearless, and innovative leader.
Some other accomplishments of hers include being recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30, Boston Business Journals 40 Under 40 honoree, the Chair for the 2023 New England Women’s Leadership Awards, and Boston’s Most Influential Asian American Pacific Islanders 2023. Pooja serves on the board of althea.ai, an organization committed to leveraging technology and data science to improve financial and clinical outcomes, while reducing behavioral and systemic inefficiencies. Outside of healthcare, Pooja is committed to helping provide opportunities to children in diverse urban communities and is able to do so through her work with Junior Achievement, where she serves as a board member.