Following the publication of press reports and a video, Patrick Conway, M.D., formerly the Director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), resigned as president and CEO of the Durham-based BlueCross BlueShield North Carolina since October 2017.
According to a September 25 report in the Raleigh News & Observer, “The leader of North Carolina’s largest health insurer resigned as CEO Wednesday, a move that comes after new information emerged about his June drunken-driving arrest that threatened a merger with an Oregon-based company.”
News & Observer reporters Paul A. Specht and Zachery Eanes wrote that “BlueCross NC CEO Dr. Patrick Conway announced Wednesday night that he will step down from the position — effective immediately — after two years on the job. His departure comes amid mounting pressure from insurance regulators who are furious that Blue Cross failed to share details of Conway’s arrest while the company negotiated a partnership with Cambia Health.
The BlueCross Board of Trustees issued a statement Wednesday night to media saying they requested Conway’s resignation. Trustees said they were unaware of details that became available earlier in the week, specifically “notes from the arresting officers and contents from their investigative files.”
“As a mission-driven organization, BlueCross NC is committed to doing business with honesty, integrity and fairness,” the statement said. “The details that recently emerged related to Dr. Conway’s arrest depict behavior that falls short of our standards. Despite Dr. Conway’s many successes during his tenure at BlueCross NC, we feel that our constituents are best served by naming an interim CEO and beginning a formal search for a permanent replacement.”
Conway released a statement Wednesday night as well, in which he apologized for the pain he has caused his family and colleagues. He noted his efforts to be transparent, saying he “immediately disclosed” the arrest to Blue Cross trustees and stepped down from his duties to focus on completing 30 days of substance use treatment. “I have never had an incident like this before, and it is not consistent with who I am as a father, husband and community member,” Conway said in the statement.
Dr. Conway had joined BCBS North Carolina on October 1, 2017, after six years at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as Chief Medical Officer, as Deputy Administrator for Innovation and Quality, and Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.
