Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota announces three leadership appointments

(Eagan, Minn.) March 2, 2020 - Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) has announced the appointment of three new officers, each with more than 20 years of health care industry experience.

Christopher Fanning, a 25-year leader in health care sales and marketing, joins Blue Cross as senior vice president, president of commercial markets. Christine Reiten, who has spent more than two decades in the Minnesota health insurance market, is the organization’s new vice president of Medicaid. John Warren brings nearly 30 years of experience to his role as vice president of Medicare. 

“These appointments represent some of the most accomplished health leaders within their respective disciplines,” said Dr. Craig Samitt, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. “We’re very fortunate to add such breadth of experience and expertise within our leadership team. I look forward to working with all of them on our shared mission of inspiring change, transforming care and improving health for our members and our communities.”

Christopher Fanning, Senior Vice President, President of Commercial Markets
Christopher Fanning oversees a portfolio of health plans that include Minnesota-based national corporations, large and small employers, public sector organizations, labor unions and ancillary business segments. He has accountability for delivering sustainable health care, holistic wellness opportunities and overall customer satisfaction to more than 1.5 million members.

Before coming to Blue Cross, Fanning served as chief sales and marketing officer at Geisinger Health Plan, a not-for-profit insurance company serving approximately 550,000 members in central and northeastern Pennsylvania. At Geisinger, Fanning led sales and marketing teams, developed strategy and business plans for all lines of business, and had oversight of market research, product development and corporate communications. He also held sales and marketing leadership positions at Coventry Health Care, QualChoice of Virginia and Health Alliance Plan in Detroit.

Christine Reiten, Vice President of Medicaid
Christine Reiten leads the overall performance and member experience of plans covering Minnesota’s Medical Assistance program (state Medicaid).

Most recently, Reiten served as senior director of state public programs for Medica in Minnetonka, Minnesota. In that role, she was responsible for all areas of product strategy and performance; growth initiatives; planning; and execution. Reiten’s tenure at Medica also included leading regulatory adherence and product administration. Additionally, Reiten has held compliance leadership positions in government programs with Prime Therapeutics and Metropolitan Health Plan – Hennepin Health. Reiten began her career at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, serving 17 years in government programs administration and operations leadership.

John Warren, Vice President of Medicare
John Warren provides strategic oversight and direction for all Medicare lines of business, including Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, Group Retiree Products, Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (Part D) and Special Needs Plans.

Warren’s previous health care experience covers operations, product, strategy, sales, marketing, analysis and account management. Immediately prior to Blue Cross, Warren served as senior director of Medicare sales, product and market strategy at Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Colorado in Denver. At Kaiser, he was responsible for Medicare Advantage sales, marketing, product development and product strategy. Warren has also held leadership positions at Colorado Access, Coventry Health Care, Vanderbilt Management Services, HealthNet, Inc. and United HealthCare.