Patrick Conway, MD deputy administrator for innovation and quality at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is departing his government post to take the reigns of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC).
In an Aug. 8 statement, Blue Cross NC announced that Dr. Conway will start as the insurer’s new president and CEO on Oct. 1. Blue Cross NC’s role in transforming the health care system in North Carolina is both a model for other plans and a system that Dr. Conway is excited to further improve, he said in a statement.
Dr. Patrick Conway
“I look forward to collaborating with Blue Cross NC employees, health care providers and employers to deliver the best health outcomes and best service experience at the lowest cost for our customers,” he said.
Blue Cross NC Board of Trustees Chair Frank Holding Jr. called Dr. Conway a national and international leader in health system transformation, quality, and innovation who will further advance Blue Cross NC’s goals.
“His unique experiences as a health care provider and as a leader of the world’s largest health care payor will help Blue Cross NC fulfill its mission to improve the health and well-being of our customers and communities,” Mr. Holding said in the statement.
Dr. Conway joined CMS in 2011 as the agency’s chief medical officer and ultimately became the agency’s deputy administrator for innovation and quality and director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. Following President Obama’s departure from office, Dr. Conway took over as acting CMS administrator for then-CMS principal deputy administrator Andy Slavitt until new administrator Seema Verma assumed the position in March.
A longtime pediatric hospitalist, Dr. Conway was selected as a Master of Hospital Medicine by the Society of Hospital Medicine. He also was elected to the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in 2014. Prior to joining CMS, Dr. Conway oversaw clinical operations and research at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center as director of hospital medicine, with a focus on improving patient outcomes across the health system.
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