PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Board of Directors of Health Partners Plans today announced that long-time President and Chief Executive Officer William S. George will retire June 1 and will be succeeded by Executive Vice President, Clinical and Provider Management Denise Croce.
Mr. George first joined Health Partners Plans in 1991 as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Finance, and was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer in 2006. During his 13 years as President and CEO, Mr. George diversified the company’s lines of business and oversaw numerous quality improvement initiatives that resulted in Health Partners Plans having the only Medicaid plan in Pennsylvania and one of only eight in the nation to earn a status of Excellent from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as of September 12, 2018.
Mr. George also established an industry-first, nationally recognized “Food is Medicine” program that provides medically appropriate meals to members with chronic conditions at no cost to the member, with more than 665,000 meals provided to date. Today, several managed care organizations across the nation have begun to implement similar programs.
Ms. Croce first worked at Health Partners Plans from 2004 through 2006 as Senior Vice President of Health Care Management Operations. She returned to HPP in 2016 as Executive Vice President of Clinical and Provider Management. Under her leadership, the company’s clinical practices were streamlined and quality initiatives were launched that significantly contributed to HPP’s outstanding NCQA ratings. Denise also led the team responsible for creating programs to enhance the company’s risk scores, which generated significant revenue improvement. Additionally, under her leadership, several cost containment strategies were launched that produced significant savings for Health Partners Plans. Previously, Ms. Croce held CEO responsibility at competitor health plans in several states throughout the country.
“This leadership transition marks a significant milestone for Health Partners Plans,” said Barry Freedman, Chairman of the Health Partners Plans Board of Directors and President and Chief Executive Officer of Einstein Healthcare Network. “Under Bill, the company expanded its product offerings and launched industry-changing innovations that resulted in it becoming one of the nation’s leading Medicaid MCOs. With Denise taking the helm, Health Partners Plans is poised to begin a new era of growth and expansion, which will enable the company to bring its innovative, compassionate care model to many more beneficiaries in the region.”
About Health Partners Plans
Health Partners Plans is a not-for-profit managed care organization renowned for addressing food insecurity through its groundbreaking medically tailored meals program. It is the only Medicaid plan in Pennsylvania and is among just eight Medicaid plans nationwide with an accreditation status of Excellent as of September 12, 2018. This is the highest status bestowed by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Health Partners Plans serves more than 262,000 members in Southeastern Pennsylvania. It provides a broad range of health coverage options through its Health Partners Medicare, Health Partners (Medicaid) and KidzPartners (Children’s Health Insurance Program) plans. Founded more than 30 years ago, Health Partners Plans is one of the few hospital-owned health plans in the country. Learn more about how Health Partners Plans is doing it right at HealthPartnersPlans.com, twitter.com/HPPlans and facebook.com/healthpartnersplans.
