The board of Connect for Health Colorado, the state’s online marketplace for health insurance, has named another interim CEO after the finalist for the permanent position withdrew.
Kevin Patterson — Gov. John Hickenlooper’s chief administrative officer — will step in as interim chief executive on May 8, the exchange board announced Monday.
He replaces Gary Drews, who was named interim CEO last August after the agency’s permanent chief executive, Patty Fontneau, left to join health insurer Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI) as president of its private exchange business.
Drews previously told the board he planned to depart in May and that he was not interested in the permanent position.
Robert C. Malone, picked by the Connect for Health board earlier this month as the sole finalist for its chief executive position, withdrew from consideration “because of a change of heart over relocating to Colorado,” the board announced April 17.
The announcement of Malone’s selection as finalist came a day after state legislators established a special panel to work with Connect for Health on finding its new CEO.
At the time, Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, chairwoman of the legislative committee overseeing the exchange, expressed unhappiness with the exchange board’s action in picking a finalist, and said that the special panel would go ahead and draft qualifications for the job that Malone might or might not fit.
“The board chose to seek a second interim to lead the marketplace as it revisits its CEO search process with the Legislative Health Benefit Exchange Implementation Review Committee,” the board’s Monday announcement said.
Patterson previously has served as interim director of various state agencies while they searched for permanent leaders. And he was Hickenlooper’s interim chief of staff afterRoxane White left in November and before the appointment of Doug Friednash to the post in January.
He was an ex-officio member of the Connect for Health board from May 2013 to December 2014.
Earlier, he held various positions with the city and county of Denver.
“We know Kevin well and he knows Connect for Health Colorado well from his service on the board,” board Chair Sharon O’Hara said in Monday’s announcement. “Kevin brings a broad public policy background to this role and is well positioned to step in and build on the progress Gary has made while the board continues to seek a permanent CEO.”
Patterson will step down from his post in the governor’s office.
“I am excited by the opportunity to help more Coloradans get health insurance, to obtain the healthcare they need and to enjoy the financial security that comes with coverage,” Patterson said. “I am looking forward to working with Connect for Health Colorado’s talented and dedicated staff on their mission to increase access, affordability and choice for residents of Colorado.”
Connect for Health Colorado oversees an online marketplace for individual, family and small-business health coverage as called for under the federal Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Date: April 27, 2015