Johns Hopkins Health Plans is elevating its finance leader to interim CEO while the Baltimore-area managed care company looks for a permanent successor for its previous chief executive, who left to join a rival insurer last month.
Placing Daniel Chojnowski in the interim position will provide stability as JHHP recruits for its next CEO, the insurer said in a Tuesday post on LinkedIn. James Holland, JHHP’s former chief executive, served in the role for seven years before leaving to lead Humana’s Medicaid division in August.
Chojnowski “embodies the modern CFO, which has evolved from the number-crunching budget guard to a strategic partner, helping to steer organizational decisions,” JHHP said.
Prior to working at JHHP, Chojnowski spent more than a decade at nonprofit insurer Martin’s Point Health Care, including almost four years as its CFO.
JHHP has posted recent losses as insurers broadly contend with higher medical spending and what they say is lackluster reimbursement from government programs.
JHHP lost about $45 million in its most recent fiscal year, as operating expenses outpaced $2.5 billion in revenue from premiums, according to the system’s financial statements.
The regional health plan, which covers nearly 400,000 members in Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic region, is jointly owned by Johns Hopkins Health System and John Hopkins’ medical school. It offers plans in Medicare Advantage, Tricare, employer-sponsored coverage and Medicaid.
Other insurers owned by provider groups have been revamping their operations, battered by rising medical spending and competition from national insurers. Last month, the insurance division of nonprofit health system Providence said it was shutting down completely next year, after failing to reach a deal to keep its Medicare Advantage business running.
Other health plans, like those run by Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White, have said they will stop offering Medicaid and Affordable Care Act plans.
