Joseph R. Swedish, also known as Joe Swedish, is an American health care executive and former hospital administrator. He served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Anthem Inc., based in Indianapolis, the second-largest health insurance company in the United States. Previously, Swedish was the CEO of Trinity Health Corp. from December 2004 until his resignation in February 2013, when he was appointed CEO of Anthem.
Swedish is the son of Eastern European immigrants (not Swedish) who moved to the United States in the late 1940s. He attended elementary school at a local orphanage while growing up on his parents’ farm in Virginia.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1973. Later, he attended Duke University and obtained a master’s degree in health administration in 1979.
Alongside his executive roles in hospital management, he also served on several boards, including those of Blue Cross and Blue Shield and the National Institute for Health Care Management.
In February 2013, he was named CEO of Anthem Inc., one of the largest health insurers in the U.S. His appointment came as a surprise to many industry veterans and regulators, including WellPoint investors, due to his limited experience in the insurance sector. Swedish succeeded former CEO Angela Braly, taking the helm of WellPoint during the early years of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was already reshaping the health care landscape. His background in hospital administration and his ability to build strong relationships with care providers, combined with his track record in managing organizational change and restructuring, were the key reasons why the board chose him to lead the company.
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