Most of the nation's largest health payers have a single CEO at the helm and operate under one name across many states. In contrast, Blue Cross and Blue Shield payers function as smaller, independent companies, though they are often the largest insurer within their respective state.
Though they are all a part of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, affiliates are predominantly owned by Elevance Health (Anthem), Highmark Health, Regence or Health Care Service Corp.
Meet the individuals leading the BCBS affiliates in each state:
BCBS of Alabama
Tim Vines has been president and CEO since 2018 after serving at the company for 27 years. Previously, he held the roles of COO, chief administrative officer, senior vice president of business operations and senior vice president of health management.
Premera BCBS of Alaska
Jim Grazko has been president since 2014 after first joining the company in 1999. Prior to that, he was director of underwriting at Health Net.
BCBS of Arizona
Pam Kehaly has been president and CEO of the company since 2017. Previously, she was president of Anthem's Western region and specialty business and held leadership roles at Anthem Blue Cross California.
Arkansas BCBS
Curtis Barnett has been president and CEO of the company since 2017 after being promoted from senior vice president of internal operations and president and CEO of the company's subsidiary USAble Corp.
Anthem Blue Cross California
Beth Andersen has been president since 2019 after being promoted from leading the company's large group sales. Previously, she held leadership positions at Optum and Aetna.
Blue Shield of California
Paul Markovich has been president and CEO since 2013 after being promoted from COO. He has been with the company continuously since 2002.
Anthem BCBS Colorado
Charles Ritz has been president of the company since 2020. He spent the majority of his prior career at Humana, where he most recently was regional vice president of the West region.
Anthem BCBS Connecticut
Lou Gianquinto has been president of the company since 2020. Previously, he was president of Anthem's Medicaid program in Missouri and has also held roles at UnitedHealthcare.
Highmark BCBS Delaware
Nicholas Moriello has been market president of the company since 2018. Prior to Highmark, he was vice president of consumer, Medicare and government affairs at Savoy Associates.
CareFirst BCBS (District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia)
Brian Pieninck has been president and CEO of the company since 2018. He had been the company's COO since 2017. Prior to joining CareFirst in 2015, he was president of the Americas for Aetna International.
Florida Blue
Pat Geraghty has been president and CEO of the company since 2011, after he left the same position at BCBS Minnesota. Before that, he was a senior vice president at Horizon BCBS of New Jersey.
Anthem BCBS of Georgia
Robert Bunch has been president of the company since January 2022 after spending the past 20 years with Anthem. Most recently, he had served as COO and vice president of Anthem national accounts.
Hawaii Medical Service Association
Mark Mugiishi, MD, has been president and CEO since 2020 after first joining the company in 1995. He previously served as the company's chief medical officer and chief health officer and is the co-founder of the Endoscopy Institute of Hawaii and the Eye Surgery Center of Hawaii in Honolulu.
Blue Cross of Idaho
Charlene Maher has been president and CEO since 2016. Previously, she held leadership roles at EmblemHealth, Medica and Anthem. Paul Zurlo will become the company's next president and CEO in 2024.
Regence BlueShield of Idaho
Mark Ruszczyk has been president of the company since 2021. Previously, he was head of marketing and sales at Kaiser Permanente's mid-Atlantic division.
BCBS of Illinois
Stephen Harris has been president of the company since March 2022. Previously, he led Medicaid operations at parent company Health Care Service Corp. and was regional vice president of health plan operations at Molina Healthcare.
Wellmark BCBS (Iowa and South Dakota)
Cory Harris has been CEO of the company since 2021 after being promoted from president and COO. He first joined the organization in 2011 and has served as executive vice president and general counsel.
Anthem BCBS Indiana
Beth Keyser has been president of the company since 2020. Before that, she was president of Create health plans in New York City and held several leadership roles at Healthways, which is now Tivity Health.
BCBS of Kansas
Matt All has been president and CEO since 2018 and first joined the company in 2006. Before that, he was a practicing attorney and state assistant insurance commissioner.
BCBS of Kansas City
Erin Stucky has been president and CEO since 2019 after being promoted from executive vice president for market innovation and business development. She first joined the company in 1997.
Anthem BCBS Kentucky
Kennan Wethington has been president of the company since 2017 after first joining in 2003. Previously, he had served as regional vice president of sales. Before Anthem, he was a practicing attorney.
BCBS of Louisiana
Steven Udvarhelyi, MD, has been president and CEO of the company since 2016. Previously he was executive vice president of health services and chief strategy officer at Independence Blue Cross. He also was faculty at Harvard Medical School and had a clinical practice at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
Anthem BCBS Maine
Denise McDonough has been president of Anthem's Maine business since 2019. She first joined the company in 2010 as director of sales in New Hampshire. Before that, she was at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care for 13 years.
BCBS of Massachusetts
Sarah Iselin became the company's president and CEO in 2023 after leaving Blue Shield of California as COO and executive vice president.
BCBS of Michigan
Daniel Loepp has led the company for more than 16 years after becoming president and CEO in 2006. Before that, he held several leadership roles, including senior vice president, chief of staff and vice president of governmental affairs. He is retiring in 2024, and the company will begin searching for a new CEO in December.
BCBS of Minnesota
Dana Erickson, RN, has been president and CEO of the company since 2021 after she was promoted from senior vice president. She previously held leadership roles at Univita Health and Optum. She has also worked as a registered nurse and respiratory therapist.
BCBS of Mississippi
Carol Pigott has been president and CEO since at least 2012. The company did not respond to a request for more information about its leadership structure.
Anthem BCBS Missouri
Stephanie Vojicic has been president of the company since 2021. She held a variety of leadership roles after first joining Anthem more than 26 years ago.
BCBS of Montana
Lisa Kelley will become the company’s new president, effective Jan. 1, 2024 after serving as the company's general counsel since 2019.
BCBS of Nebraska
Jeff Russell has been president and CEO since June 2023. He previously served as CEO of Delta Dental of Iowa since 2013.
Anthem BCBS Nevada
Mike Murphy has been president of the company since 2006. Previously, he held executive sales roles at UniCare and the company's Kentucky and Indiana divisions.
Anthem BCBS New Hampshire
Maria Proulx has been president of the company since March 2022 after being promoted from regional vice president of sales. Prior to joining Anthem, she was a practicing attorney.
Horizon BCBS of New Jersey
Gary St. Hilaire has been president and CEO of the company since 2020 after serving in the same position at Capital Blue Cross in Pennsylvania starting in 2012. He was also CFO at Capital and held leadership roles at BCBS Massachusetts.
BCBS of New Mexico
Janice Torrez has been president since 2021 after she was promoted from chief of staff and assistant vice president of external affairs. Previously, she was president of the Resultz Group, a healthcare consulting firm.
Empire BCBS (New York)
Victor DeStefano was appointed president in October 2023. Before joining Empire in 2019, he held several leadership positions at UnitedHealth Group.
Highmark BCBS of Western and Northeastern New York
Michael Edbauer, DO, has been president of the organization since 2021, when it was rebranded from HealthNow New York. He had been HealthNow's executive vice president and chief strategy and growth officer.
Excellus BCBS (New York)
James Reed has been president and CEO of the company since 2021 after first joining the company in 1996. Most recently, he served as executive vice president of marketing and sales and as regional president for the Central New York market.
BCBS of North Carolina
Tunde Sotunde, MD, has been president and CEO of the company since June 2020. Before that, he was president of Medicaid in Anthem's government business division and was also a practicing pediatrician in Syracuse, N.Y.
BCBS of North Dakota
Dan Conrad has been president and CEO since 2018 after being promoted from chief legal officer. As a practicing attorney, he previously held leadership positions at FedEx and the Justice Department.
Anthem BCBS Ohio
Jane Peterson has been president of the company since 2021 after she was promoted from regional vice president for Ohio sales. She has held a variety of leadership roles since joining the organization in 2001.
BCBS of Oklahoma
Stephania Grober has been president of the company since May 2022 after she was promoted from vice president. She first joined the organization in 1997.
Regence BCBS of Oregon
Michael Cole has been president since 2023. Previously, he led Aetna's North Atlantic commercial operations, which includes the New England, New York/New Jersey, Keystone and Capitol markets.
Capital Blue Cross (Pennsylvania)
Todd Shamash has been president and CEO of the company since 2020 after previously serving as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. He held leadership positions in the Pennsylvania Governor's Office, state insurance department and Jefferson Health System in Philadelphia.
Highmark BCBS/Blue Shield (Pennsylvania)
Joseph Haddock has been market president for Eastern Pennsylvania since June 2022, which includes Highmark BCBS in the Northeast of the state and Highmark Blue Shield in Central Pennsylvania. He previously held senior positions at Homestead Smart Health Plans and Geisinger Health Plan.
Independence Blue Cross (Pennsylvania)
Gregory Deavens has been president and CEO of the company since 2021 after being promoted from executive vice president, CFO and treasurer. Prior to that he was corporate controller and CFO at MassMutual.
BCBS of Rhode Island
Martha Wofford has been president and CEO of the nonprofit payer since 2021 after leaving kidney care provider DaVita as group vice president. Ms. Wofford also held several top roles at Aetna and served in the Clinton administration.
BCBS of South Carolina
Michael Mizeur has been president and CEO of the company since July 2022 after first joining the company in 1998. He served in various leadership roles, including CFO and COO.
BCBS of Tennessee
J.D. Hickey has been CEO of the company since 2015 after first joining in 2011 as CEO of the company's Medicaid managed care subsidiary BlueCare. Before that, he was a principal at consulting firm McKinsey & Co.
BCBS of Texas
James Springfield has been president of the company since 2021. Previously, he was COO at Cancer Treatment Centers of America. He has held leadership roles with Optum, Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston and Valley Baptist Health System in South Texas.
Regence BCBS of Utah
Jim Guemple will become market president in January 2024. He previously served as regional vice president of key accounts for UnitedHealthcare's West region.
BCBS Vermont
Don George has been president and CEO of the company since 2009, after first starting in 1993. Previously, he was senior vice president and chief operating officer of the Vermont Health Plan, the company's HMO subsidiary.
Anthem BCBS Virginia
Monica Schmude has been president since April 2023, joining the payer after 13 years at Cigna, where she was president of the mid-Atlantic commercial market.
Regence Blue Shield of Washington
Claire Verity has been president since 2021. Previously, she was the Pacific Northwest regional CEO at UnitedHealthcare. She has spent the majority of her career with UnitedHealth Group.
Premera Blue Cross (Washington)
Jeffrey Roe has been president and CEO since 2014 after first joining the company in 1996. Before taking the top role, he held leadership positions within the company's employer and individual market segments.
Highmark BCBS West Virginia
James Fawcett has been president of the company since 2016. He's been with Highmark for more than 30 years and has also served in leadership positions within the Delaware and Pennsylvania markets.
Anthem BCBS Wisconsin
Paul Nobile has been president since 2016 after being promoted from regional vice president of sales and account management. Previously, he held leadership roles at Rush Prudential Health Plans, Aetna and UnitedHealthcare.
BCBS of Wyoming
Diane Gore has been president and CEO since 2019 after first joining the company in 1985. She has held several key roles, including CFO, COO and executive vice president.