Who: Mary Brainerd
Retiring as: President and CEO of HealthPartners, an integrated system based in Bloomington, Minn., effective June 1. Brainerd will be succeeded by Andrea Walsh, an executive with the system since 1994 who is currently executive VP and chief marketing officer
Background: Brainerd joined HealthPartners when it was formed in 1992 through the merger of Group Health and MedCenters Health Plan and was promoted to CEO in 2002. The system reported $5.6 billion in revenue in 2015.
Continuum of care: Brainerd said HealthPartners has a strategic advantage over its rivals because it provides both care and insurance, allowing the system to better understand its patient population. “We see ourselves as having all the potential to address the challenges of American healthcare really under our roof, so shame on us if we are not capable of having a positive impact.”
Challenging times: Affordability remains a deep-rooted problem, Brainerd said. She said the system's integrated model has the benefit of stabilizing financials, but thinks “both delivery systems and health plans face challenging times.”
