Optum names pediatrician and healthcare policy veteran as new CEO
UnitedHealth Group has tapped a new CEO for Optum, promoting the head of the company’s pharmacy division, Patrick Conway, MD, to lead the full organization.
According to an announcement, Conway is a veteran in health policy related to medical insurance and has served in leadership roles at Optum Rx and OptumHealth. He will take over as CEO of all of Optum on May 6, when current CEO Heather Cianfrocco, a corporate attorney, transitions to a new role as UnitedHealth Group’s executive vice president of governance, compliance, and information security.
“Heather’s deep knowledge of our business from her experience in senior leadership roles across UnitedHealthcare and Optum, coupled with a decade working as a lawyer, will continue the company’s commitment to strong governance and ethical oversight of our operations,” UnitedHealth said in a statement.
As for Conway, his resume in health policy extends beyond Optum. He previously served as director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation and held positions at the agency, including Chief Medical Officer under President Barack Obama’s administration. Before that, he worked in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under President George W. Bush.
Conway was also the CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and was a practicing pediatrician at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Children's National Medical Center. He joined Optum in 2020, three years after stepping down from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.
Conway also served on the boards of various companies and policy groups, including Aledade, Intarcia Therapeutics, the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, Help at Home, and Sound Physicians. He has been a member of the National Academy of Medicine since 2014.
According to his LinkedIn profile, he is still a practicing pediatrician.
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