Executive Moves

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association has named David Merritt senior vice president of policy and advocacy, effective Oct. 24.

Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield has added two clinical quality executives to its leadership team, Arkansas Business reported Sept. 19.

Brad D. Smith, former Intuit CEO, has been elected to Humana's board of directors. 

Forge Health, a value-based behavioral health provider, has named Tim Wentworth chair of its board.

Former UnitedHealthcare CEO Steve Nelson has been named CEO of JenCare, a senior-focused primary care practice.

From several new CEOs to a chief ethics officer at Centene, these are 10 payer exec moves reported by Becker's in the first half of September: 

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee's BlueSky Institute, a college degree and training program aimed at fostering new IT talent for the company, has named Haley Wilson as recruitment coordinator.

LifeStance Health, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based virtual and in-person mental healthcare provider, has named Ken Burdick as CEO and chair. In addition, Danish Qureshi has been named president and COO.

Former CMS Administrator Seema Verma will join the healthcare advisory board of artificial intelligence-driven insurance technology developer Shift Technologies.

From multiple Blue Cross companies to Centene, some of the nation's largest health insurance companies have chosen 10 women to lead this year: