Paul Markovich

Paul Markovich is president and chief executive officer of Blue Shield of California, a nonprofit health plan with $21 billion in annual revenue serving 4.5 million members in the state's commercial, individual, and government markets. Markovich has launched and led numerous initiatives to drive innovation and help reimagine health care, including funding support for a statewide provider directory to make it easier for Californians to find physicians and facilities in their plan; supporting development of a statewide health information network for patients’ records, enabling more seamless and holistic care; and investing in a partnership with the California Medical Association to help physicians pilot new care delivery models and leverage technology.

In December 2019, Markovich became chair of the board of Altais, a subsidiary company created under his leadership to invest in physician practices and equip them with the tools and technology they need for a sustainably affordable, high quality health care system.

His mission-driven executive approach is known for leading enterprise-wide efforts to transform health care, facilitating growth and managing operational risk.

A 25-year Blue Shield veteran, Markovich previously served as chief operating officer (2009-2012), responsible for health care services, network management, e-business, marketing, product development, and customer operations. He was senior vice president of the large group (2004-2008) and CalPERS business units (2002-2004). In the late 1990s, he led the company’s product development unit, introducing numerous products and services such as the first California Health Maintenance Organization to allow self-referrals to specialists and initiating online access to member benefits.

Markovich spent 2000-2002 as an entrepreneur co-founding a consumer-driven health plan, MyWayHealth. He then joined Definity Health, another consumer-driven plan based in Minneapolis, before returning to Blue Shield.

He recently became a member of California’s new Health and Human Services Data Exchange Framework Stakeholder Advisory Group; a group intended to create policies and procedures that will become the framework for the secure exchange of health records throughout California’s health care ecosystem. In addition to chairing the Altais board, Markovich serves on the boards of Manifest MedEx, America’s Health Insurance Plans and the California Association of Health Plans. Markovich served as the board chair of the Chicago-based Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, the national umbrella organization across the country. Together, these plans provide health coverage for more than 100 million Americans.

Markovich is a North Dakota native and Rhodes Scholar with a master’s in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University. He is a graduate of Colorado College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Political Economy and played Division I hockey.