BATON ROUGE, La. – The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana (BCBSLA) Board of Directors has selected Bryan Camerlinck as President and CEO, following Steve Udvarhelyi’s decision to retire after serving in the role for more than eight years.
"We are fortunate to have someone of Bryan’s experience and track record succeed Steve Udvarhelyi as President and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana,” said Jerry Greig, chairman of the BCBSLA Board of Directors. “Bryan has the strategic vision coupled with the tactical leadership experience to address the challenges and opportunities that Blue Cross and its employees face in serving our members, providers and brokers in today’s evolving healthcare environment.”
Camerlinck joined BCBSLA in 2016 as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and was promoted to the role of Executive Vice President (EVP) and Chief Operating Officer in 2021, where he had financial and operational responsibility for all lines of business at Blue Cross. He also had strategic oversight of the Company’s business operations, information technology, data and analytics, sales, marketing and communications, and customer experience divisions. In addition, Camerlinck has also served as Chairman of the Board and President and CEO of Vantage Health Plan, now operating as Primewell Health Services in Arkansas and Mississippi, wholly owned subsidiaries of BCBSLA.
Prior to joining BCBSLA, Camerlinck held progressively responsible roles at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City for more than 20 years, including CFO and president and CEO of the company’s subsidiaries. He began his career as an auditor with Ernst and Young, is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and holds a degree in Accounting and Pre-Law from Kansas State University.
“Since I joined Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana my family and I have thoroughly enjoyed the people and culture unique to Louisiana. In this new role, I will continue to work with our dedicated employees to provide top tier service and the security that our members expect from us,” said Camerlinck. “I am honored to lead the Company as we continue to address the health issues that impact all Louisianians.”
Udvarhelyi joined BCBSLA as President and CEO in 2016. Under his leadership, the Company saw growth in commercial products, including the individual exchanges, and expanded into government business. BCBSLA now offers Medicare products in each of Louisiana’s 64 parishes. To further grow the Company’s government business division, BCBSLA completed its strategic acquisition of Vantage Holdings in 2019, adding deep Medicare Advantage experience and resources to the Company. In addition, BCBSLA serves almost 300,000 Medicaid members through a joint venture with Elevance Health called Healthy Blue.
“Serving as President and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana has been an honor and a privilege, and I am proud of the accomplishments we have made during these last eight years. These include expansions in Government Business, our continued commitment to the individual market and improving the way we work with our provider partners. Today, we are the only health insurer in the state that offers a product for every Louisianian in every parish, no matter their walk of life,” said Udvarhelyi.
Camerlinck takes the reins as President and CEO, effective immediately. To assist in the transition, Udvarhelyi assumes a new role of Special Advisor to the Board and CEO until his retirement in July.
“This is a carefully planned succession,” Greig said. “We know that the status quo will not work in the complex healthcare environment we are facing today. Bryan’s leadership and experience make him the right leader to address the challenges in the healthcare environment and position BCBSLA for continued success for decades to come. The Board and I thank Steve for his unwavering commitment to our Company and its mission over the last eight years and wish him well as he transitions to his much-deserved retirement.”
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is committed to our mission to improve the health and lives of Louisianians. Founded in New Orleans in 1934, we are a tax-paying not-for-profit health insurer with offices in every major region to serve our customers. We have been recognized for the past five years as an honoree of The Civic 50, named by Points of Light as one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. We invite all Louisianians to visit our website at www.bcbsla.com or talk to us on social media @BCBSLA.
