The Minnesota Council of Health Plans has appointed Andrea Walsh chair of the association’s board of directors. Walsh, the president and CEO of HealthPartners, takes over for John Naylor, president and CEO of Medica.
The Council works to foster collaboration among its nonprofit health plan members to provide Minnesotans with broad access to high-quality care. Council members voluntarily waived cost-sharing and took other actions to support Minnesotans throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Council members are active in supporting wellness and most recently launched a back-to-school vaccination awareness campaign.
“Our nonprofit health plans embrace innovation, transparency and cooperation to improve the health of all Minnesotans.” Walsh said. “These are urgent, shared priorities because making health care work better for everyone is incredibly important.”
Walsh has served as president and CEO of HealthPartners since 2017 and has been with the organization for more than 20 years. In 2021 she was named Executive of the Year by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.
The Minnesota Council of Health Plans established in 1985, is an association of licensed nonprofit health plans. It includes Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, HealthPartners, Hennepin Health, Medica, Sanford Health Plan and UCare.