Bryan Camerlinck, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana on Monday, January 23, 2023 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Dr. I. Steven Udvarhelyi, President and Chief Executive Officer of BCBLA, answers a question during the state senate committee on Blue Cross Blue Shield Louisiana on Monday, February 5, 2024 at the state capitol building in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Steve Udvarhelyi
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana President and CEO Steve Udvarhelyi walks back to his seat after being excused during a joint legislative insurance committee hearing on the sale of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana to Elevance Health on Wednesday, August 16, 2023 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Bryan Camerlinck, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana
Steve Udvarhelyi
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana President and CEO Steve Udvarhelyi walks back to his seat after being excused during a joint legislative insurance committee hearing on the sale of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana to Elevance Health on Wednesday, August 16, 2023 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana CEO Dr. Steve Udvarhelyi, who led the controversial and ultimately unsuccessful effort to sell the Baton Rouge-based nonprofit to one of the nation’s largest insurers, Elevance Health, is retiring in July after more than eight years at the helm of the company.
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Bryan Camerlinck has been tapped to succeed Udvjarhelyi and will take the reins of the company immediately, Blue Cross announced Tuesday.
“We are fortunate to have someone of Bryan’s experience and track record succeed Steve Udvarhelyi,” said Blue Cross board chairman Jerry Greig. “Bryan has the strategic vision coupled with the tactical leadership experience to address the challenges and opportunities that Blue Cross and its employees face in serving our members, providers and brokers in today’s evolving health care environment.”
Udvarhelyi’s retirement comes three months after the company shelved its plan to sell to Elevance amid opposition from doctors, hospitals, some policyholders and state lawmakers.
Dr. I. Steven Udvarhelyi, President and Chief Executive Officer of BCBLA, answers a question during the state senate committee on Blue Cross Blue Shield Louisiana on Monday, February 5, 2024 at the state capitol building in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
“Serving as President and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana has been an honor and a privilege, and I am proud of the accomplishments we have made during these last eight years,” Udvarhelyi said in a statement.
Udvarhelyi was the mastermind behind the proposed deal to sell to Elevance. He spent most of 2023 trying to convince Blue Cross policyholders, regulators and the broader public that the company needed to sell to a larger insurer to remain competitive in a changing insurance market.
His rationale was overshadowed by the complaints of policyholders, Elevance’s regulatory issues in other states and worries about political influence in a $3 billion foundation, Accelerate Louisiana, that would have been created with proceeds from the sale.
The concerns came to a head late on Fat Tuesday, when the Blue Cross board voted to table the deal 12 hours before State Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple was scheduled to convene a two-day regulatory hearing on it.
Though the company said the deal was “on pause,” multiple sources familiar with the situation said the proposed sale was effectively dead for the foreseeable future. And on April 23, an exit clause — which could have cost either company $75 million for walking away from the deal — expired, meaning the deal is permanently off the table.
Udvarhelyi, a board-certified internist, came to Blue Cross in 2016 at a time when the company was losing money. Over the next five years, he helped turn things around, increasing reserves by 38% to $1.65 billion in 2022. He also diversified Blue Cross offerings into more government-sponsored plans like Medicare and Medicaid and self-funded plans.
But running those plans isn’t as lucrative for Blue Cross as its traditional bread and butter — underwriting fully insured, employer-sponsored health plans — which shrunk by 20% from 2013 to 2023, as customers sought ways to save money on ever-rising health care costs.
In 2019, Undvarehlyi hired a consulting firm to analyze the company’s strengths and weaknesses. That report, which the company declined to share, highlighted the challenges the independent Blue would face in the future against large, national companies and informed the decision to try to sell to Elevance, the company has said.
“Should we not be able to move forward with this deal, we need to realize that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana will not look the same in five to 10 years as it does today,” Udvarhelyi told state lawmakers in a public hearing Feb. 5.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana on Monday, January 23, 2023 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Camerlinck joined Blue Cross in 2016 as Chief Financial Officer and was promoted to the role of executive vice president and chief operating officer in 2021, where he had financial and operational responsibility for all lines of business at Blue Cross. He also had strategic oversight of the Company’s business operations, information technology, data and analytics, sales, marketing and communications, and customer experience divisions.
Prior to joining Blue Cross, Camerlinck spent more than 20 years as an executive at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. He began his career as an auditor with Ernst and Young, is a certified public accountant and holds a degree in accounting and pre-law from Kansas State University.
“Since I joined Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, my family and I have thoroughly enjoyed the people and culture unique to Louisiana. In this new role, I will continue to work with our dedicated employees to provide top-tier service and the security that our members expect from us,” said Camerlinck in a statement. “I am honored to lead the company as we continue to address the health issues that impact all Louisianians.”
Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@theadvocate.com.
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