Pat Geraghty, the longtime top executive of one of the nation’s fastest-growing health insurance companies in Florida Blue, will retire at the end of this year, the company said.
Geraghty, who is 65 years old, has been president and chief executive officer of GuideWell and Florida Blue since 2011 when he took over as CEO, growing the company into a nationwide provider of health benefits and medical care services.
Under Geraghty’s leadership, the company grew from a largely regional provider of health insurance and $8 billion in annual revenues to more than $32 billion in annual revenue.
The company includes Florida Blue, trade name of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, and now serves over 38 million people across 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands with more than 18,000 employees. Aside from its health insurance plans, the company includes GuideWell Health and its portfolio of medical care provider operations including primary and urgent care at nearly 100 Florida medical centers and affiliate clinics.
“He has strengthened the company immeasurably and his dedication to our values and to helping people and communities achieve better health has had a profound impact on our culture, the health insurance industry, and the communities where GuideWell and its companies operate,” Thomas G. Kuntz, chairman of the GuideWell and Florida Blue Boards of Directors, said.
Florida Blue has been one of the nation’s biggest providers of individual coverage under the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare.
While some health plans of its size or even larger exited markets where they claim they couldn’t make money on individual insurance and Obamacare, Geraghty remained committed to such coverage. Florida Blue offers products under the ACA in all 67 Florida counties.
“I treasure having had the opportunity to reshape a traditional insurance company into a health solutions enterprise with the consumer as the focus, and with wellness, care support, and quality of care for our members as integral to our mission of ‘helping people and communities achieve better health,’” Geraghty said.
“With a highly engaged board and deeply caring, dedicated teammates, we have been on a mission to meet our customers and members where they are and provide new, innovative ways to enhance their health journey,” Geraghty added. “Our team, which reflects Florida and Puerto Rico and beyond, works hard every day to provide the level of care and service that our members need and deserve. I look forward to handing off the leadership mantle at GuideWell / Florida Blue later this year and will be rooting for the organization’s success on behalf of its members.”
The GuideWell and Florida Blue board of directors has began a “national search and succession planning process and engaged Russell Reynolds Associates” to assist in the finding of a replacement for Geraghty, the companies said.