Blue Cross NC Board of Trustees Elects Dr. Patrick Conway as New President, CEO

Blue Cross NC Board of Trustees Elects Dr. Patrick Conway as New President, CEO

8/8/2017

Durham, NC – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina’s (Blue Cross NC) Board of Trustees has elected Patrick Conway, MD, MSc as its new President and CEO.

 

Dr. Conway currently serves as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Deputy Administrator for Innovation and Quality, and Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI).

He will join Blue Cross NC as President and CEO-elect on October 1. Current President and CEO Brad Wilson will remain CEO for an appropriate period to ensure an effective transition.

“Dr. Conway is a national and international leader in health system transformation, quality, and innovation,” said Blue Cross NC Board of Trustees Chair Frank Holding, Jr. “His unique experiences as a health care provider and as a leader of the world’s largest health care payor will help Blue Cross NC fulfill its mission to improve the health and well-being of our customers and communities.”

“Blue Cross NC’s role in transforming the health care system in North Carolina is a model that other plans aspire to and that I want to work with the Blue Cross NC team to further improve,” said Dr. Conway. “I look forward to collaborating with Blue Cross NC employees, health care providers and employers to deliver the best health outcomes and best service experience at the lowest cost for our customers.”

Dr. Conway currently serves as the most senior, non-political executive at CMS. He has worked in both Republican and Democratic administrations and is respected in a bipartisan manner. He is one of the driving forces behind the national movement to value based care, with health care payments tied to quality and innovation.

Dr. Conway joined CMS in 2011 as the agency’s Chief Medical Officer. A respected leader, innovator and clinician, he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2014. Election to the IOM is considered one of the highest
honors in the fields of health and medicine, recognizing individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement.

He is a practicing pediatric hospitalist and was selected as a Master of Hospital Medicine from the Society of Hospital Medicine. He has received the President’s Distinguished Senior Executive Rank and HHS Secretary’s Distinguished Service awards. These are the President’s and Secretary’s highest distinctions for senior executive excellence. He is a former White House Fellow and Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar.

Prior to joining CMS, Dr. Conway oversaw clinical operations and research at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center as Director of Hospital Medicine, with a focus on improving patient outcomes across the entire multi-billion dollar health system. He also served at McKinsey & Company as a private sector consultant for health care clients early in his career.

Dr. Conway completed pediatrics residency at Harvard Medical School's Children's Hospital Boston, graduated with High Honors from Baylor College of Medicine, and graduated summa cum laude from Texas A&M University.

Over his career, Dr. Conway has published more than 80 articles in journals such as JAMA, New England Journal of Medicine, Health Affairs, and Pediatrics.

“At this important time in health care and health insurance transformation, Dr. Conway brings a unique background and perspective to our company and state,” said Brad Wilson, Blue Cross NC President and CEO. “I look forward to working with him, and introducing him and his family to the great state of North Carolina”.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina improves the health and well-being of our customers and communities by providing innovative health care products, services and information to more than 3.89 million members, including approximately 1 million served on behalf of other Blue Plans. Since 1933, we have worked to make North Carolina a better place to live through our support of community organizations, programs and events that promote good health. We have been recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Institute multiple times since 2012. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Visit Blue Cross NC online at bcbsnc.com. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

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