100 Most Influential People in Healthcare - 2021

In 2021, under Smith’s leadership, HCSC announced its biggest expansion in Medicare Advantage. The commercial insurer covers more than 16 million members across five states through Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans. Smith has more than 25 years of experience in health insurance finance, strategy and operations. He was named HCSC president in 2020 and also served as president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. He has held board positions with the Economic Club of Chicago, World Business Chicago, Roosevelt University, the Civic Federation, and Ventas.

Smith speaks: “We’re a company about providing high-quality access to care, and we kept that as our North Star, all the way through. There was a team of over 24,000 people making decisions every day in terms of how to best support our stakeholders.”