Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota names William Gerardi, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Health Management

EAGAN, Minn. (August 11, 2014) —Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) today announced that Dr. William Gerardi will serve as chief medical officer and senior vice president of health management. In this role, he is responsible for setting business goals that increase the quality of care for Blue Cross members while continuing to driving lower overall costs. Gerardi will provide strategic direction and oversight to multiple areas of the organization, including Integrated Health Management, Health Economics, Medical Affairs and Pharmacy.

“Dr. Gerardi is a great addition to our executive leadership team,” said Michael Guyette, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.  “Delivering a relevant and personalized consumer experience is a critical part of our business strategy. As such, it made sense to have a chief medical officer position to oversee the work that would have the greatest impact on how our members navigate the health care system. Dr. Gerardi was the ideal candidate, given his vast experience in driving improvement in health outcomes, partnering with providers, and working within the Blues’ systems.”

Gerardi brings more than two decades of medical management leadership and expertise to Blue Cross. Most recently, Gerardi was chief medical officer at Aetna Better Health of Illinois. He also served as chief medical officer at Resolution Health, Inc. in Columbia, Md., and has held leadership positions at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida and Sierra Angeles Health Care Group.

Dr. Gerardi received his Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Medicine degrees from Georgetown University, and holds an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota

For more than 90 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (bluecrossmn.com) has supported the health, wellbeing and peace of mind of our members by striving to ensure equitable access to high quality care at an affordable price. We are on a mission to inspire change, transform care and improve health for the people and communities we serve by reinventing both ourselves and the broader system. Our more than 2.5 million members can be found in every Minnesota county, all 50 states and on four continents. As a proud nonprofit organization, we believe working to advance wellness for all Minnesotans is the greatest investment we can make. Our goal is nothing less than for everyone to be able to achieve their full health potential, regardless of race or other socially defined circumstances. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, which serves more than 107 million members across the U.S.