Michael Rashid is retiring as president and CEO of AmeriHealth Caritas, effective March 31, after 20 years with the Philadelphia-based Medicaid managed-care company.
Paul Tufano, executive vice president at Independence Blue Cross and chairman of AmeriHealth Caritas, will take over as CEO.
“I’m going to go off and do different things,” Rashid said. “Mainly, I’m going to be a retired guy.”
AmeriHealth Caritas is owned by IBC, the Philadelphia region’s largest health insurer, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan under a partnership formed in 2011.
Rashid became CEO of AmeriHealth Caritas, then known as AmeriHealth Mercy, in 2010 succeeding Daniel J. Hilferty, who was promoted to president and CEO of IBC. Rashid will serve as special adviser to Hilferty through the end of this year.
During his two decades with AmeriHealth Caritas, Rashid played a key role in developing three new product lines and helped the company grow from a 500,000-member organization serving Medicaid recipients in the Philadelphia region into a 5 million-member organization serving people in 15 states and Washington D.C. The company has also expanded from 500 employees to 4,000, including about 2,300 in Pennsylvania — most of whom work out of the company headquarters near the Philadelphia International Airport.
Tufano, who was named chairman of AmeriHealth Caritas four years ago, said his plan is to continue growing the company.
“We’ll continue to look for opportunities to partner with other Blue Cross plans,” said Tufano, noting that the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act has created more interest in the service line that covers low-income families and individuals.
Tufano joined IBC in 1999 as senior vice president and general counsel. In 2010, he was promoted to executive vice president and received the additional responsibilities as president of government markets — overseeing the company’s Medicare, CHIP and Special Care products that serve more than 200,000 people. In 2011, he was put in charge of public affairs, which includes government and community affairs along with the Independence Blue Cross Foundation. He also became chairman of AmeriHealth Caritas.
Both Rashid and Tufano spoke of continuing AmeriHealth Caritas’ mission of providing access to quality health care to “people most in need” across the country.
“There is no better way to spend a life than in service to others,” Rashid said. “I look forward to watching AmeriHealth Caritas continue to transform thousands of more lives for many years to come. I can think of nobody better to take the reins than Paul Tufano.”
Tufano’s new position will have a ripple effect through IBC and AmeriHealth Caritas.
Anne Morrissey, chief operating officer at AmeriHealth Caritas, will also become president of the company.
Tufano will continue as executive vice president of IBC, but he will relinquish his role as general counsel and corporate secretary. Thomas A. Hutton will be promoted to senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for IBC, reporting to Hilferty. Richard F. Levins will take on expanded responsibilities as vice president, deputy general counsel, and general counsel for the Pennsylvania health insurance marketplace. Lilton R. Taliaferro Jr. will assume a similar role for New Jersey as vice president, deputy general counsel, assistant corporate secretary, and general counsel at AmeriHealth New Jersey. Hutton will also oversee public policy and association affairs for IBC.
Date: Feb 6, 2014