James E. Purcell has spent the last seven months mending fences, reaching out to health care providers and government officials, and promoting “integrity and ethical conduct,” as he put it, within Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island.
But as acting president and CEO, “there was always a question of how much long-term planning we could do,” Purcell said in an interview – a question of what would happen if Purcell were replaced within months by an entirely different person.
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“Now everybody knows they will be dealing with me long-term,” Purcell said. He’s had good conversations with doctors, for example, about raising their pay but also controlling costs and improving affordability. “Now that I’m permanent CEO, we have to start making it happen.”
Purcell, 59, had been chief operating officer at Blue Cross since 2000. He took over as acting CEO in May, after the ouster of Ronald Battista, inheriting all the controversy that had built up during Battista’s tenure. His charge was to repair the damage, and he proved himself to be an “exceptional” leader, board chairman Frank Montanaro said in a news release.
“He stepped into the presidency under very difficult circumstances and immediately began the healing process,” Montanaro said. The board launched a national search for a new CEO, led by a professional firm, and the competition was “intense,” he added. “But, without question, we are satisfied that Jim is the right man for the job.”
Purcell’s salary was set at $500,000 per year, which the company said is “competitive with the salaries of health plan CEOs nationally,” based on a compensation study done for Blue Cross. Since becoming acting CEO, Purcell had earned the equivalent of $478,000 a year.
An upstate New York native, graduate of Cornell University and Vietnam veteran, Purcell was a founding partner of the Providence law firm Partridge Snow & Hahn, where he had served as outside counsel to Blue Cross since the 1980s.
Asked if he’d ever imagined, years ago, that he would lead the company, Purcell replied: “Goodness, no.” He “surprised everyone,” even himself, by taking the COO job, he said, “but it was something completely different. It sounded challenging, and Lord knows it has been.”
Purcell said he has also bonded with the Blue Cross staff “in a way I would never have dreamt about. They are a terrific bunch of people, and I think it would’ve broken my heart if I’d had to tell them I didn’t get the job.”
Purcell talks about leading by example, and his demeanor is friendly, approachable. He’s always promoting collaboration.
But Purcell is tough in his own way, as he’s shown in the fight to overturn the state’s choice of competitor UnitedHealthcare of New England to cover some 52,000 workers, retirees and their dependents. After a scathing judgment against the state in Superior Court, the case is due to be heard by the state Supreme Court on Jan. 18.
“Look, I’m a nice guy, but at some point if I feel that we haven’t been treated appropriately, I will do whatever I have to do to protect ourselves,” Purcell said.
Through a spokesman, Gov. Donald L. Carcieri commented on the appointment.
He said “he looks forward to working with Mr. Purcell to make Blue Cross more responsive to its subscribers, and to the citizens of Rhode Island who depend on its services,” his spokesman Jeff Neal said. “He wishes Mr. Purcell well in his new position.”
Edward J. Quinlan, president of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, said Purcell has been “well received” by health care providers this year because he has been a very visible leader and “reached out to providers in a constructive manner.”
“I think going forward, we’re going to have agreements and disagreements, but they’re best dealt with openly, with respect and with trust,” Quinlan added. “I think the future will tell us if this year was indeed a positive first step.”
