Our Next CEO, Tricia Keith, Will Lead Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Successfully into the Future
Daniel J. Loepp
| 4 min read
Daniel J. Loepp is President and Chief Executive Off...
As I shared last September, I am retiring after nearly two decades leading Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. The board announced today that they have chosen Tricia A. Keith to succeed me beginning in January 2025. I’m extremely pleased for our company, our members and customers that Tricia will be leading BCBSM into the future. Tricia’s boundless energy, deep knowledge of our company and stakeholders, and experience as a leader will be her strengths as our organization addresses the rapid changes happening in health care.
The strongest companies evolve to adapt to changing times. In service to our members and employer group customers, Blue Cross must continue to remain open to change. We must identify the trends that are impacting our members’ health care – and we must stay ahead of them. We must constantly innovate and deliver new solutions that address the challenges that confront our mission of providing access to quality, affordable health care for the millions of people we serve. We must take responsible action to support the financial strength of a company that pays $88 million every day for our members’ care.
Tricia Keith is the right person to build on our strong foundation and inspire and deliver the changes we need to make, while honoring the historic nonprofit mission that makes us unique as a company.
When I retire, I’ll have served BCBSM as president and CEO for nearly 20 years of the 85-year history of our company. My approach to leading this great company has always been focused on change and not resting on success. We’ve evolved our business, our products and services, and our contributions to society in ways that support the needs of people in this changing world.
I clearly recall the days after the company’s Board of Directors selected me, in 2005, to succeed Richard Whitmer as president and CEO. At the time, our company was very different. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan was primarily a local health plan, operating only in the state of Michigan under an antiquated state law that restrained us from innovating. As a newly-hired CEO, the challenge was right in front of me – and the answer to it was to rally the company, our stakeholders and state leaders behind the need for change. We accomplished that goal – and in 2013, BCBSM became a nonprofit mutual insurance company. Still regulated by the state, we were allowed to grow into new markets, and partner to grow nationally. This diversification and growing national scale helps the people we serve.
Today, our enterprise family of companies has grown beyond commercial health insurance to serve Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries, and provide workers’ compensation, specialty insurance, long-term care and hospital recovery insurance, dental, vision and other insurance lines. This diversification helps generate revenue and profits that support our company’s financial strength and our efforts to moderate the growth of health insurance costs for our commercially insured members and customer groups.
As president of Emerging Markets since 2020, Tricia Keith has been at the forefront of this diversification strategy. She led the dramatic growth of our Emerging Markets division – totaling $22 billion in annual revenue – and helped our non-health lines of business flourish nationally. When I became CEO in 2005, our workers’ compensation subsidiary, AF Group, generated $600 million in annual premium. Today, it operates in 50 states and generates $3 billion in annual premium. Last year, AF Group purchased AmeriTrust Group in a strategic move to expand its national offerings and provide more comprehensive solutions to customers. And then, there’s Medicare. When I started as CEO, BCBSM only offered a Medicare Supplemental product to Medicare beneficiaries. Today, we offer a complete array of Medicare Advantage products and Supplemental products, and our Medicare membership places us in the top 10 of all insurers nationally. In Medicare, we are a model that other Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans around the nation have turned to for our expertise and partnership.
In leading Emerging Markets, Tricia Keith has delivered these results. In fact, she has grown Emerging Markets’ revenue by $4 billion since 2020. She approaches her work with an open mind, an inclusive approach, energy that multiplies, and an abiding commitment to Blue Cross’ longstanding mission. And she’s a Michigan native – committed to doing the right thing for the people of our home state.
As we look ahead at the challenges that confront our members, customers, provider partners and society, the heavy responsibility borne by the CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan cannot be understated. Blue Cross sits at the crossroads of health care – we always have. Whenever you arrive at a crossroads, it’s good to have a trusted guide to confidently point the way. Starting January 1, 2025, Tricia Keith will be there for you – at the crossroads, pointing the way – every day she holds the best job in health care.
Photo credit: BCBSM
