Name: Dr. Patrick Fox
Previous title: President, Wellpoint New Jersey
New title: President, Carelon Behavioral Health
Fox is assuming the top role at Elevance’s behavioral health division effective immediately, the Indianapolis-based insurer announced Monday.
The executive has had a three-decade career in clinical psychiatry, behavioral health and health plan leadership. Fox was previously president of Wellpoint New Jersey, which offers Elevance-affiliated Medicare Advantage and Medicaid coverage in the Garden State. Prior to that, he led Elevance’s Medicaid health plan in Colorado.
Before joining Elevance in 2020, Fox taught forensic psychiatry at Yale, served as director of a maximum-security forensic hospital in Connecticut, directed Colorado’s Office of Behavioral Health and was chief medical officer of Colorado’s Department of Human Services.
Fox “understands the challenges facing behavioral healthcare from the clinical, operational and system perspectives,” Kristy Duffey, the president of Carelon Health, said in a statement. “That breadth of experience will be invaluable as we work to improve access, strengthen connections across the healthcare system and deliver better outcomes for the people we serve.”
Carelon Behavioral Health serves more than 61 million members nationwide, according to Elevance, and bills itself as one of the largest behavioral health platforms in the U.S. Elevance acquired the assets in 2020 with the purchase of Beacon Health Options, a major independently held behavioral healthcare firm, which it rebranded as Carelon Behavioral Health in 2023.
The division offers clinical mental health, substance use disorder management, specialty programs for conditions like autism and depression, and other behavioral health services to health plans, employers, government agencies and providers.
Demand for such offerings has been increasing as conditions like depression and anxiety become more prevalent, and social stigmas around seeking care for mental health needs erode.
Fox is stepping in for Corbin Petro, who was named president of Carelon Behavioral Health in 2024. An Elevance spokesperson said the company does not comment on personnel matters when reached for comment on the reason behind Petro’s replacement.
Patrick Gillespie, currently Elevance’s regional vice president of state affairs, is succeeding Fox as president of Wellpoint New Jersey, Elevance also said Monday. Prior to joining the insurer in 2016, Gillespie worked as a state lobbyist for Cigna.
Elevance has been overhauling its executive bench as it attempts to bolster profits in its core insurance business and capitalize on Carelon’s growth. The company announced a slew of mid-level executive appointments in March, one month after elevating CFO Mark Kaye to the head of Carelon and centralizing oversight of its health plans.
