Kurt Small, president of Medicaid for Elevance, will become president and CEO of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.
Elevance Health has announced a series of leadership appointments across its Health Benefits and Carelon organizations.
The appointments, Elevance said, support the continued expansion of Carelon, the healthcare services company that Elevance launched in 2022 that includes pharmacy services, behavioral health, specialty benefits management and research.
As Carelon continues to scale, the updated leadership structure is designed to better align capabilities, accelerate decision-making and improve enterprise efficiency, Elevance said.
These leadership changes also strengthen alignment with Elevance Health’s Health Benefits segment, which serves more than 45 million members.
“As we continue to execute on our strategy, these leadership appointments strengthen our ability to deliver consistent, high-quality performance and drive continued growth,” said Gail Boudreaux, president and CEO of Elevance Health.
The appointments include:
- Aimée Dailey has been named president of Government Business, with responsibility for Medicare, Medicaid, Federal Government Solutions (FGS) and Group Retiree Solutions (GRS). Dailey has played a pivotal role in expanding Elevance Health’s government programs, strengthening state partnerships, and improving access and outcomes for millions of members.
- Kristy Duffey will join the company as president of Carelon Health, where she will lead clinical strategy and operations across advanced primary care, behavioral health, specialty care and care at home. A nurse practitioner by training, Duffey brings deep experience in scaling care models and improving performance across large, complex populations, most recently at Optum and CINQCARE.
- Will Feest will serve as president of Carelon Insights, in addition to his role as chief operating officer for Carelon. Feest has led financial and operational strategy across Carelon, Commercial and Government Health Benefits, and will focus on advancing analytics-driven performance and strengthening enterprise alignment.
- William Fleming will join the company as chief growth and strategy officer for Carelon, responsible for growth strategy, partnerships and portfolio expansion. Fleming brings more than 30 years of experience across healthcare services and insurance, including leadership roles at Humana, where he drove innovation across pharmacy, home health and care services.
- Darrell Oliveira has been named CFO for Carelon, bringing extensive experience in capital strategy, financial performance and transformation, with prior leadership roles at MetLife, Prudential and MassMutual.
- Jeff Plante has been named CFO for the Health Benefits segment. Most recently serving as president of Carelon Insights, Plante has led the growth of analytics, payment integrity and value-based care solutions and brings experience across finance, operations and strategy.
In addition, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield has announced that Kurt C. Small, president of Medicaid for Elevance Health, will become president and CEO, effective May 4. CareFirst is among the country’s largest not-for-profit healthcare insurers, serving 3.5 million members with a strong presence in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Northern Virginia and a broader national reach.
The Elevance appointments follow management changes announced in early March.
Mark Kaye, executive vice president and CFO, expanded his responsibilities to include oversight of Carelon. Executive Vice President and President of Carelon Peter D. Haytaian transitioned to serve the company as special advisor through Dec. 31.
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