Mike Reitz, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, will retire from his post, rounding out 40 years of service with the company.
During his years as president of the state’s largest health insurer, Reitz introduced multiple programs and products intending to protect the health not only of Blue Cross customers, but of all Louisiana citizens. He will retire in mid-2016.
“For all things, there is a season, and my time is passing,” Reitz said. “I feel I have contributed to the success of the company over the past years by working with my colleagues to serve our customers–to provide the people who put their trust in us with the unsurpassed value they deserve.”
Blue Cross board Chairman Dan S. Borné said the company will conduct a nationwide search for its new CEO in the coming months.
“As a collaborative and passionate leader, Mike Reitz leaves his distinctive mark on not just Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, but on the evolving healthcare system in our state and on the citizens of Louisiana,” said Borné. “And because he has always been a nurturing steward of this company, he will be leaving it in a position of extraordinary strength.”
During his administration, Reitz initiated a collaborative effort to reshape the state’s private healthcare system into one that is affordable, rewards quality care and is easy for all consumers to navigate. He enlisted the help of hospitals, physicians, employers and consumers to set into motion this much-needed transformation–one that is already seeing results.
“It gives me great satisfaction to have built this solid foundation. I look forward now, as I cross the finish line of my race, to passing the baton to a successor who will have an equal or greater passion for serving our customers first, and who will move our company to an even higher level,” Reitz said.
Reitz described a few new initiatives Blue Cross plans to roll out soon.
“Blue Cross is partnering with providers on innovative healthcare programs that directly tie their payments to quality improvements that get better results for their patients. This shift from ‘fee-for-service’ to ‘fee-for-quality’ will impact costs, because when patients get healthier, costs go down,” Reitz said. “In addition to rewarding value-based care, we’re using claims data in exciting new ways; we’re building reports for providers so they can see how they compare to peers on cost and quality. And we’re partnering with them to develop innovative, high-performing networks that give customers unsurpassed quality at reduced premiums.”
Date: February 25, 2015