Industry
UnitedHealth Names Former CHOP CEO Madeline Bell to Board
UnitedHealth added Madeline Bell, a former nurse and retired CEO of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, to its board effective immediately, the company announced this week. Bell spent four decades at CHOP, including eight years as COO and 11 years as president and CEO before retiring in October, and also serves on Comcast's board. CEO Stephen Hemsley said her clinical and health-system leadership experience would add "an important perspective" to the board. The appointment is UnitedHealth's second board addition, following former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, since Hemsley began a financial and operational turnaround that has included a new "public responsibility" committee and several executive leadership changes.
Why it mattersHealth plans and provider systems watching UnitedHealthcare's strategy may see Bell's hospital-operations background as a signal of how the insurer plans to approach clinician relations and governance amid its broader turnaround.