The president of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield will become CEO of the health insurer and its parent company at the beginning of next year, replacing retiring CEO David Klein.
Christopher Booth will take over as CEO of Excellus, which is Central New York’s largest health insurer, and its parent, The Lifetime Healthcare Cos., on Jan. 1. He has been president of Excellus since March 2011.
“It’s an honor to lead such a talented Upstate workforce of people who provide care and coverage for their neighbors,” Booth said in a news release. “Whether federal health-care reforms are upheld or not, we must work collaboratively with those who provide care and those who pay for it. Our mutual goals are high-quality care and making coverage as affordable as possible.”
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Booth first joined Rochester–based Lifetime in 2004. He has held the roles of chief administrative officer and general counsel, executive vice president for commercial markets and health care affairs, executive vice president and chief operating officer, and president.
Before joining Lifetime, Booth worked as its outside legal counsel in Albany while with the firm Hinman Straub P.C. Booth had been Hinman Straub’s health practice chairman before leaving for Lifetime.
“The best companies have orderly transitions, and this one is as good as it gets,” said Randall Clark, chairman of the board of directors for Excellus and Lifetime. “Chris is not only the legal architect of our entire corporation, he has been in the pivotal role of running our health plan and achieving membership growth as well as high-performance goals. He has a deep understanding of our business needs and mission. Our company will be in steady hands, and our communities will be well served by his leadership.”
Lifetime is a $6.2 billion nonprofit holding company that provides health insurance coverage to 1.8 million people in 39 counties. It employs more than 6,500 people across upstate New York through its health plan companies and affiliate firms.
Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com
