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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis-based WellPoint Inc. named the head of a Catholic hospital system as its next CEO.
Joe Swedish, the CEO of Michigan-based Trinity Health since December 2004, will replace Angela Braly, who was forced out by angry investors in August. Swedish, 61, will take office on March 25.
Since then, WellPoint, the nation’s second-largest health insurer, has been led by interim-CEO John Cannon. Cannon will remain with WellPoint, as executive vice president of legal and public affairs.
“He brings to WellPoint an extensive track record leading large, complex health care organizations through diverse challenges in difficult market and regulatory environments, and his experience will be invaluable to WellPoint as we continue to find innovative ways to collaborate with providers in an effort to improve quality outcomes and reduce the cost of care,” said Jackie Ward, chair of WellPoint’s board of directors, in a prepared statement.
“Joe’s background, in concert with our management’s insurance market expertise, creates a team uniquely qualified to manage all facets of our evolving health care system,” Ward added.
While at Trinity, Swedish has helped grow the organization to be the 10th largest hospital system in the nation, with $9 billion in annual revenue. Trinity’s 56,000 employees operate 47 hospitals and 32 long-term care facilities, along with numerous outpatient centers and clinics.
And the organization is about to get even bigger. Swedish recently signed a letter of intent to merge with Pennsylvania-based Catholic Health East, which will create the fifth-largest hospital system in the nation, with $13 billion in annual revenue.
Before leading trinity, Swedish was the CEO of Colorado-based hospital system Centura Health.
At WellPoint, Swedish will lead an organization with more than $70 billion in annual revenue.
The company struggled under Braly’s five-year tenure. Its stock generated a negative return of 28 percent, the lowest among the five largest health insurers.
Investors grew frustrated with a pattern of missed earnings projections by WellPoint. Investors also grew to like WellPoint rival UnitedHealth group because it seemed better positioned to succeed the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
The health reform law will shift future growth away from WellPoint’s traditional strengths in the employer-sponsored insurance market and toward government-sponsored health plans. WellPoint is scrambling to retool its business model in response.
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