Meet Blue Cross' new president and CEO

Massachusetts' largest nonprofit health plan has a new president and CEO who intends to build on the company's "outsized influence on health care in the United States," with a focus on affordability, access, quality and equity.

"I want to bring our culture of leadership to the way we serve every member," said Sarah Iselin, who formally assumed the role on Jan. 1, 2023. "This is an organization with an exceptional leadership team and deeply committed and caring associates. We can build on the legacy of success to continue to inspire the rest of the community and country about just how good health care can be."

Iselin, the first woman to lead Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts in its 85-year history, succeeded longtime CEO Andrew Dreyfus,

Iselin noted that under Dreyfus' leadership, the company and its foundation helped shape Massachusetts' landmark health reform law that led to near-universal insurance coverage and was a model for the Affordable Care Act, as well as spurring a national movement toward value-based payments.

"This plan continues to inspire and influence the rest of the country," Iselin said in a company-wide webinar, "including in behavioral health access, which has never been more important work — there are profound unmet needs. And as we emerge from this pandemic, this plan has incredible aspiration and goals to eliminate all health disparities."

Iselin was selected after a months-long national search by the company's board that included a large and diverse slate of talented and highly qualified executive leaders. She most recently served as executive vice president and chief operating officer at Blue Shield of California, and previously held senior leadership positions in both the private and public sectors, including Florida Blue, Optum, and in Massachusetts state government. Iselin also served in leadership roles at Blue Cross and its Foundation.

"Sarah has a passion for making health care simpler and more affordable, and a familiarity with our company and the unique role it plays in Massachusetts health care," Blue Cross Board Chair Dorothy Puhy told employees. "The board has chosen a leader who is going to continue the legacy that we've collectively built, but also bring new ideas and and new innovations,"

"Sarah is simply one of the most talented people I've ever worked with. She's brilliant, strategic, smart. She cares deeply about affordability, quality, equity, the experience our members have both with us and in the health care system more broadly."

_{^{- said former CEO and President Andrew Dreyfus}}