J.D. Hickey is taking the helm as CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Tennessee.
Bill Gracey, 61, announced this month that he would retire at the end of August. Hickey has been the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Blue Cross affiliate's COO since 2012 and CEO-elect since June.
Gracey
Before becoming CEO in 2013, Gracey was COO for about three years. He transitioned into that role in 2010 from a seat on the insurer's board of directors, a position he took after retiring as executive VP and COO of Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint Hospitals, which is now named LifePoint Health.
Hickey, 44, joined the company in 2011 as CEO of BlueCare Tennessee, the insurer's Medicaid managed-care subsidiary. He was named COO of BCBS of Tennessee less than a year later.
Before working at the insurer, Hickey was a principal at McKinsey & Co., and served as director of the TennCare Bureau, Tennessee's Medicaid program, from 2004 to 2006.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Tennessee is considered the dominant carrier in the state. It has an estimated 70% of the market share. The insurer asked for a rate increase of 36.3%. The company said it had faced higher than expected morbidity in 2014.
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