CareFirst Announces New Senior Management Positions
Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) September 23, 2013 -- CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst) recently appointed a former U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs executive and a health care policy adviser for health reform issues as Executive Vice Presidents of Medical Affairs and Strategic Business Development, respectively.
Scott Gould, a former Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of Veterans Affairs (VA) and former Vice President for IBM Global Business Services, will oversee CareFirst’s Patient-Center Medical Home (PCMH) Program as the company’s new Executive Vice President (EVP) of Medical Affairs.
John Kaelin, previously Senior Advisor for health care consultancy Avalere Health, will direct three key areas of CareFirst’s growth as Executive Vice President of Strategic Business Development –market research, strategic planning and strategic business partnerships.
In addition, CareFirst announced the hiring of Vince Sobocinski as Vice President and General Manager of CareFirst Administrators, the company’s third-party business administrator. Sobocinski comes to CareFirst from Cigna Health Care, where he served as Vice President and General Manager of the Keystone Great Lakes Region.
“I am pleased to welcome Scott, John, and Vince to our CareFirst leadership team and I am confident they will help strengthen the company on many fronts as we move into a challenging and exciting period in our industry,” said CareFirst President and CEO Chet Burrell. “Their expertise, knowledge and background will be relied on to support some of the company’s most important corporate initiatives.”
In addition to overseeing CareFirst’s PCMH Program, Gould will also manage the company’s medical policy and care coordination activities.
At the VA, Gould managed more than 300,000 employees providing direct health care and benefits to over 8.5 million veterans. Prior to his service at the VA, Gould was Vice President of Public Sector Strategy for IBM Global Business Services, where he developed strategy for IBM’s public sector defense, intelligence and homeland security business. Gould also served as Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration at the Department of Commerce, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and as a White House Fellow. He holds an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and graduate degrees from the University of Rochester.
Kaelin, CareFirst’s new Executive Vice President of Strategic Business Development, carved out a health care reform niche during his stint with Avalere and in his previous role with UnitedHealthcare. While at Avalere, Kaelin advised clients on health reform issues, including the development of new state health insurance exchanges and expansion of Medicaid. Before joining Avalere earlier this year, Kaelin served as Senior Vice President for Health Reform for UnitedHealthcare – one of several Vice President positions he held during nearly a decade with the insurer. He also was Executive Director with the Hilltop Institute at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, where he pioneered the development of a data warehouse for Maryland’s Medicaid program. Kaelin holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the State University of New York.
Sobocinski will manage the company’s third-party business accounts as Vice President and General Manager of CareFirst Administrators (CFA). In his previous position with Cigna Health Care, he managed customer service, new sales, regulatory compliance and public relations activities. Sobocinski holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Temple University.
About CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
In its 76th year of service, CareFirst, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is a not-for-profit health care company which, through its affiliates and subsidiaries, offers a comprehensive portfolio of health insurance products and administrative services to 3.4 million individuals and groups in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia. In 2012, CareFirst contributed nearly $57 million to community programs designed to increase the accessibility, affordability, safety and quality of health care throughout its market areas. To learn more about CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, visit our website at http://www.carefirst.com or follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/CareFirst_News.
Maya Newman, Carefirst of Maryland, Inc., http://carefirst.com, +1 (800) 914-6397, [email protected]
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