A former Medicare administrator who helped nurture many of the Affordable Care Act's new Medicare regulations is bringing his experience to the private sector.
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield has hired Jonathan Blum, former principal deputy administrator at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, as executive vice president for medical affairs.
Serving Maryland, Washington D.C. and Virginia, CareFirst is the mid-Atlantic's largest insurer, and Blum's two decades of health policy experience will be especially valuable in Maryland's highly-regulated healthcare market.
"Jon brings extremely impressive and extensive background in health care strategy, policy and operations, at the highest levels of government," said CareFirst CEO Chet Burrell, in a media release.
"His experience with the development and completion of many significant payment and delivery system reforms on a national level will be of great value in our efforts to provide affordable and accessible health care services to our members."
Blum came to CMS in 2009, as the ACA loomed close on the horizon, and worked as second in command to CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner. Blum's work, as Tavenner said when he left this spring, included "developing the ACO regulations, implementing our quality framework for Medicare Advantage plans, implementing our competitive bidding program for durable medical supplies, and developing many of our value-based payment strategies."
Before CMS, Blum was a vice president at the consulting firm Avalere Health, a staff member on the Senate Finance Committee and a program examiner at the Office of Management and Budget.
At CareFirst, his responsibilities will include overseeing the insurer's patient-centered medical home program, a burgeoning primary care coordination initiative, provider networks, pharmacy benefits and medical coverage policies.
Blum is replacing Scott Gould, a former deputy secretary of Veterans Affairs who left CareFirst after a one-year stint.