80 Years of Partnership to Serve Michigan

Daniel J. Loepp

| 2 min read

Daniel J. Loepp is President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Mr. Loepp has directed sweeping initiatives and innovations that have led to a historic transformation of BCBSM and health care in Michigan. He played a major role in modernizing the state’s health care delivery system in a process that led to enactment of new laws that transformed BCBSM to become a nonprofit mutual insurance company in January 2014. Mr. Loepp has led BCBSM initiatives to improve health care quality and slow cost increases, saving nearly $1.5 billion through several programs that have garnered national attention and served as models implemented across the country. Under his leadership, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is helping to revitalize and strengthen Detroit, Grand Rapids and Lansing. In 2011 and 2012, Blue Cross moved 3,000 BCBSM employees into downtown Detroit and the company is one of the largest employers in the city’s Central Business District. In Lansing, BCBSM subsidiary AF Group transformed a long abandoned power plant into a national headquarters. Mr. Loepp has stood by a commitment that BCBSM should be a driving force for good in Michigan’s core cities. It is reflected in BCBSM’s workforce diversity and inclusion efforts, supplier partnerships and community initiatives. In his tenure, BCBSM has been named Corporation of the Year in Finance and Insurance Services nine times by the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council. The company has also been named one of America’s Top Organizations for Multi-Cultural Business Opportunities by DiversityBusiness.com and ranked five consecutive years as one of the top 10 Regional Companies for diversity by DiversityInc magazine, including being ranked No. 1 for consecutive years in 2015 and 2016. Mr. Loepp was honored as a 2016 recipient of the Edward N. McNamara Goodfellow of the Year Award. He was selected as Michiganian of the Year by The Detroit News in 2013. Mr. Loepp joined Blue Cross in 2000. In 2011, 2012 and 2013, he served as board chair of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), an organization that includes all 36 Blue Cross plans and provides health coverage to more than 106 million Americans.

80th anniversary
For eighty years, it’s been the mission of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to be a trusted partner to our customers and members, providing access to affordable, quality care for everyone. As part of that mission, we’ve also been committed to investing in our communities to make them healthy and vibrant. A lot has changed in the last eight decades since we were founded, but our core remains the same. I’m proud that we’re continuing to lead the way for a healthier Michigan and working harder than ever to make a difference in the lives of our members as a trusted partner and advisor on their health journey. But we recognize we couldn’t do this work alone. That’s why we’ve celebrated this milestone anniversary throughout the year by spotlighting the many organizations who partner with us to improve the health and well-being of our members and people across our state, and honoring our employees who work every day to improve our customers’ experiences. Together, with partners like the Michigan Parkinson Foundation, Kirk Gibson Foundation, Alzheimer’s Association and others, we’ve raised awareness about devastating diseases and raised funding to combat them. We’ve demonstrated our commitment to community health by pledging $1.56 billion to the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. With legislators, we worked to expand Medicaid so more vulnerable residents have access. We’ve partnered with schools to make them healthier through programs like Building Healthy Communities. We’re also making an impact through the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation. Since its inception, the Foundation has provided grant funding of over $50 million to support university researchers, physicians and community organizations to increase access, improve quality and reduce the cost for health care. In partnership with residents, we continue to invest in communities, including a $5 million contribution through the Strategic Neighborhood Fund and Affordable Housing Leverage Initiative to support inclusive development in Detroit’s East Warren/Cadieux neighborhood. Our partnerships with doctors and hospitals, such as our Collaborative Quality Initiatives, have improved patient care. And in collaboration with health organizations through our new Blueprint for Affordability, we’re transforming the way we collectively approach the management of health care costs so that accountability for cost, quality, efficiency and patient outcomes is shared by all. As our 80th year draws to a close and we look toward a new decade full of possibilities and innovations, I’d like to take a moment to again thank all of our partners and employees who stood with us to make a positive impact to improve the health of all Michiganders and serve as a force for positive change for our communities.

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