Ronald A. Battista will get nearly $1.1 million and keep $600,000 in loans under the terms of a separation agreement unanimously approved by the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island board of directors Thursday, the company revealed Friday.
Battista, who stepped down as president May 6, will get two years’ pay, at $546,500 a year, the company said. The loans were forgiven, the company said, because the terms of Battista’s employment contract, last negotiated in February 2002, said they would be if he was “terminated without cause,” as he was last spring.
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Battista also is entitled to accumulated benefits as part of a retirement package earned during his 33-year tenure with the company.
In a news release, Blue Cross board chairman Frank J. Montanaro, praised Battista.
“Since becoming president in 1999, Ron Battista turned around a company that had lost more than $70 million over a three-year period,” he said. “During his tenure, the company went from significant losses to being financially healthy and stable.
“In addition to significantly improving the company’s performance, Ron was a leader in promoting a number of major health and wellness initiatives that remain in place and are helping to control the rising cost of health care for all members of the plan,” Montanaro added. “His long and dedicated service is well documented.”
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, an independent not-for-profit company created by the state, has been Rhode Island’s most widely used health insurer for 65 years and covers more than 670,000 members. It is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
