Anthem has named Felicia Norwood president of the company's government business, starting June 18.
Norwood, who previously was director of Illinois' Department of Healthcare and Family Services, will oversee Indianapolis-based Anthem's Medicaid, Medicare and federal government solutions businesses. She was also named an executive vice president reporting to CEO Gail Boudreaux.
Norwood worked in various leadership roles at national insurer Aetna—most recently as president of the mid-America region—before Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2015 tapped her to lead the state's Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the agency serving 3.2 million Medicaid beneficiaries and 500,000 families receiving child-support services.
"Felicia is a proven leader with extensive experience in both the healthcare industry and government," Boudreaux said in the Monday announcement. "She shares Anthem's vision of creating a better healthcare experience for our consumers and all Americans. Her deep understanding of our business and the unique needs of our consumers will be of tremendous benefit as we work to continue to lead our industry by developing strategic partnerships and innovative integrated clinical care solutions across our government business that will improve quality of care and drive better health outcomes."
As president of the government business, Norwood replaces Peter Haytaian, who is now president of Anthem's commercial and specialty businesses.
In May, the CEO of Anthem's new in-house pharmacy benefit manager, Brian Griffin, left the company to head up Diplomat Pharmacy, a specialty pharmacy services provider. Griffin had previously been president of Anthem's commercial and specialty businesses before being appointed CEO of Anthem's PBM IngenioRx.
Anthem has been growing its government businesses, particularly Medicare Advantage. The insurer ended 2017 with 1.5 million Advantage members, an increase of 7.4% year over year. It also recently acquired two Advantage plans in Florida, HealthSun and America's 1st Choice. Overall, membership in Anthem's government businesses totaled 9.6 million in 2017.
