Dive Brief:
- Gail K. Boudreaux has been named CEO and president at Anthem.
- Joseph Swedish, whose decision to step down was confirmed by the payer Monday, will serve as executive chairman on the insurer's board of directors through May 2018 and as senior advisor through May 2020.
- Boudreaux recently served as CEO of United Healthcare, where she was responsible for nearly $120 billion in revenue and grew membership by more than eight million members in six years.
Dive Insight:
Swedish came to Anthem in 2013 and was at the heart of many developments at the insurer.
For one, Swedish oversaw the transition of the company's name from Wellpoint to Anthem in 2014. In 2015, Anthem attempted to acquire rival insurer Cigna. The attempt was a long and arduous process which revealed deep infighting between the two companies. Anthem terminated the merger attempt in May.
Last month, Anthem announced it would leave Express Scripts and create its own pharmacy benefit manager, named IngenioRx. The insurer also signed onto a five-year agreement with CVS Health to provide prescription fulfillment and claims processing services, slated to begin on Jan. 1, 2020, after Anthem's contract with Express Scripts expires.
“The board wants to thank Joe Swedish for his visionary leadership and steadfast commitment to expanding access to high quality, affordable health care during a dynamic time for our company and our industry,” George A. Schaefer, Jr., lead independent director, Anthem Board of Directors, said in a prepared statement last Friday when the news broke. “We are fortunate that, as a result of Joe’s leadership, we have a foundation of strong performance that allows us the opportunity to transition to a new Chief Executive Officer."
Schaefer stated that under Swedish's tenure membership has grown by four million (or 11%) to 40 million; the average Anthem share price has approximately tripled; and operating revenue has increased 39% to over $89 billion.