Florida Blue Names Dr. Jannifer Harper Vice President and Chief Medical Officer; Andy Marino Vice President of Delivery System

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Jan. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Blue announced today the appointment of Dr. Jannifer Drake Harper, vice president of Medical Operations, to the position of chief medical officer. Additionally, the company named Andy Marino vice president of Delivery System. Both appointments take effect immediately. Dr. Jonathan Gavras, who previously served as the chief medical officer for Florida Blue, is transitioning to a new executive leadership position within the organization.

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Harper will be responsible for the development of the overarching clinical strategy and will serve as Florida Blue's organizational clinical representative to many key external and internal stakeholders. Harper also will provide oversight to Florida Blue's clinical activities including all health care management, wellness programs, coverage policies, pharmacy and quality initiatives, and retail health initiatives.

Prior to joining Florida Blue in 2010, Harper served as national medical director for Anthem/Wellpoint. While there, she focused on developing clinical strategies and solutions for large, national customers. She has also held leadership roles with Kaiser Permanente, as chief of medicine; CIGNA, as vice president and regional medical director; and vice president and associate chief medical officer for University Hospitals Case Medical Center of Cleveland where she was also clinical assistant professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Throughout her career, Harper has been active in community and professional organizations. She is a member of the American College of Physician Executives, the American College of Physicians, the Florida Medical Association and the Duval County Medical Society. She also serves on the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Alumni Board and the Florida Hospital Translational Research Institute Board.

Harper holds a medical degree from Case Western Reserve University and is a Certified Physician Executive (CPE) from the Certifying Commission in Medical Management. She is also board certified in internal medicine.

Marino will be responsible for the delivery system strategy, including provider contracting, value-based reimbursement, network operations, medical cost management, provider connectivity, contract analytics and provider profiling.

Joining Florida Blue in 2010, Marino served the company as vice president of Network Development. In this role, he was responsible for managing all network management functions including provider contracting, physician profiling, value based payment models, and network operations.

Prior to Florida Blue, Marino served as corporate vice president of National Networks for Coventry Health Care. While in this role, he was responsible for network strategy and medical cost management in four regions encompassing 28 states. Previously Marino was vice president of Network Development for Great West Healthcare/Cigna in Florida and held various management positions with Aetna in their network management and medical economics department throughout Florida and the Southeast Region.

Marino holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Florida and a master's degree in health sciences/health services administration from the University of Central Florida.

About Florida Blue
Florida Blue, Florida's Blue Cross and Blue Shield company, is a leader in Florida's health care industry. Our mission is to help people and communities achieve better health. Florida Blue has approximately 4 million health care members and covers 15.5 million people in 16 states through its affiliated companies. Florida Blue is a not-for-profit, policyholder-owned, tax-paying mutual company. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., it is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. For more information, visit http://www.floridablue.com/.

SOURCE Florida Blue