Peter Andruszkiewicz, the new president and CEO of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, views his new position is a chance to come home. He brings with him 30 years of expertise in the health insurance industry, most recently serving as president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia, with about 240,000 members.
“There’s no place like home,” he said. “I grew up in Salem, Mass., and in many ways, it’s a lot like Rhode Island, right on the water.”
Andruszkiewicz will begin his new role at the end of May; his predecessor, James Purcell, will be staying on through the end of the year to help with the transition. Providence Business News asked Andruszkiewicz to share his thoughts about the challenges he will face.
PBN: Why did you decide to take the job at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island? What was the attraction?
ANDRUSZKIEWICZ: The job at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island is a great fit for both personal and professional reasons. For starters, I grew up in Salem, Mass. My dad and brother and sister all live here in New England. After living in other areas of the country for so long, my wife, Danielle, and I are really looking forward to coming home.
Professionally, I really believe that Rhode Island’s scale and deep local relationships will allow us to move faster toward making the promise of high quality, affordable health insurance a reality. As someone who’s been in the health insurance industry for almost 30 years, it’s very exciting to be presented with the type of opportunity where you think you’ll be able to have that kind of impact.
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PBN: Your predecessor, James Purcell, has emphasized the importance of primary care and the development of patient-centered medical homes as the future path? Do you agree? Will those initiatives continue to be priorities for Blue Cross?
ANDRUSZKIEWICZ: Absolutely. Jim Purcell and his team have done a marvelous job building a foundation for better, more affordable care. Like Jim, I believe that primary care physicians and innovative care models like the patient-centered medical home should be the focal point of local healthcare. I’ve worked hard throughout my career to build collaborative relationships with providers and other stakeholders in an effort to improve the quality and affordability of care and will continue to do so.
PBN: What is your view of transparency in regard to reimbursement? How much of the contract between providers and health insurers should be made public by the state’s health insurance commissioner?
ANDRUSZKIEWICZ: It’s about more than just transparency. The current healthcare system is simply unsustainable. Providers and health insurers need to find different ways to work together. We need to collaborate in new ways that are more efficient, more affordable and result in higher quality healthcare for Rhode Island. To facilitate that, contracts between providers and health insurers should be founded on the quality of care provided and health outcomes, not just cost.
PBN: How important is the role of information technology and the development of a health information exchange in Rhode Island, in your opinion?
ANDRUSZKIEWICZ: I’m a firm proponent of electronic health records and view them as key to improving quality of care and moderating long-term healthcare costs. I applaud Jim Purcell for Blue Cross’ efforts to support providers in installing electronic health records and standing up a health information exchange.
PBN: In what ways do you see Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island playing a role in state’s efforts to develop a comprehensive, collaborative approach to health care reform?
ANDRUSZKIEWICZ: One of the things that really attracted me to Blue Cross is the fact that they’re already successfully collaborating with local providers to improve the quality of care delivered and truly implement health care reform. Other areas of the country are not as progressive when it comes to aligning compensation with quality of care and offering members a better quality of healthcare through patient-centered medical homes and other initiatives. The question now is where do we go from here? How do we accelerate how all of the players work together to truly create lasting change?
