UnitedHealth Group has named Mike Cotton as CEO of the company’s Medicaid business, the company confirmed to Becker’s. The role of Medicaid CEO had been vacant after former CEO Krista Nelson was named COO at Optum Health in May. Bobby…
Executive Moves
Independent Health President Jim Dunlop has departed from his role, Buffalo Business First reported July 8. Under a leadership succession plan, Mr. Dunlop was promoted to president in February 2024 after serving as executive vice president and CFO for three…
CareSource has named David Thomas as president of the company’s Ohio market. Mr. Thomas was most recently CEO of markets and Medicaid at Centene, according to a news release shared with Becker’s July 7. He was named CEO of Centene’s…
Amar Desai, MD, is out as CEO of Optum Health, Bloomberg reported June 26. Patrick Conway, MD, CEO of Optum, will also take over as CEO of Optum’s health division, Bloomberg reported, citing an internal memo. Dr. Desai will remain…
Curana Health has named Derek Chao, MD, as president and chief medical officer. Previously, Dr. Chao served as CEO of Optum Health’s western region, where he oversaw operations and care delivery across nine states. He had been with the company…
Advertisement
CVS Health has named Jeffrey Fernandez as senior vice president of Medicare at Aetna. Mr. Fernandez previously served as SVP of population health and CEO at Ochsner Health Plan. Prior to that, he held a variety of leadership roles at…
Becker’s has reported on 15 new or departing leaders from some of the nation’s largest health plans since the start of 2025: 15 recent payer leadership moves:
Banner|Aetna has named John Byrnes as chief operating officer. Mr. Byrnes will manage daily operations and lead the Phoenix-based company’s strategic efforts, according to a June 3 news release. He has been with Aetna for more than 15 years, most…
The Cigna Group has appointed Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s Executive Chairman Michael Hennigan to its board of directors. Mr. Hennigan has been with Marathon since 2017 and previously served as CEO, according to a June 2 Cigna news release. His past…
Point32Health, the parent company of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan, has named Patrick Gilligan as its new CEO, effective June 16. Mr. Gilligan joins Point32Health from consulting firm CWH Advisors, where he was a partner. Previously, he…