Blue Shield of California is following in the footsteps of other Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurers by reorganizing its corporate structure and rearranging its leadership team.
The company created Ascendiun at the start of the year to serve as the nonprofit parent of its insurance arms, its clinical services division Altais and its healthcare startup studio Stellarus, Blue Shield of California announced in a news release Wednesday.
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Paul Markovich, who had been Blue Shield of California CEO since 2012, is president of Ascendiun and interim president of Stellarus. Lois Quam, who joined Blue Shield of California as president in August, was promoted to its CEO. Susan Mullaney has been elevated from the insurer's executive vice president of strategic initiatives to its chief operating officer.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurers facing competition from highly capitalized, publicly traded, for-profit rivals have implemented corporate overhauls designed to facilitate growth. In recent years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and Horizon Blue Cross of New Jersey have carried out similar restructurings, for example.
Unlike insurance companies, nonprofit parent companies like Ascendiun are not subject to laws governing reserves, investments and corporate status.
The landmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Association antitrust settlement also freed affiliated insurers from longstanding restrictions on their business practices. Crucially, Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensees no longer have to generate at least two-thirds of their revenue from Blues-branded insurance and related services, opening the door to new lines of business.
Blue Shield of California declined to make an executive available for an interview citing the disruption from the wildfires in California.
