David Holmberg to Lead Blues

One of the major health insurer trade groups has picked a leader who’s heavily involved in the fight to get the federal government to pay its Affordable Care Act risk corridors program bills.

Members of the Chicago-based Blue Cross Blue Shield Association have named David Holmberg to be the association’s chairman.

(Related: Serota to Leave Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association CEO Post)

The association represents 36 separate organizations that have the rights to use the Blue Cross license, the Blue Shield license or both.

Holmberg is the president and chief executive officer of Highmark Inc. of Pittsburgh. Highmark is the parent of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield in Pittsburgh, and it also has Blue Cross Blue Shield subsidiaries in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia Delaware.

Holmberg succeeded Paul Markovich, the president of Blue Shield of California.

Holmberg is also on the board of another major health insurer group, America’s Health Insurance Plans.

Highmark is one of the carriers that has sold coverage through the Affordable Care Act public exchange plan. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) told public exchange plan issuers that it would use cash from thriving issuers to help make up for losses or low earnings at struggling issuers. When payments from thriving issuers ran short, Republicans in Congress blocked HHS efforts to use other sources of funding to make the promised payments.