HARRISBURG, Pa. and PITTSBURGH, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance today announced that Robert L. Dawson has been chosen to be the companies' next president and chief executive officer effective January 1, 2005. Dawson will replace Francis S. Soistman, Jr., who was named the new executive vice president of health plan operations at Coventry Health Care, Inc., the parent company of HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance.
"Since joining our organization this year as executive vice president of central Pennsylvania, Bob has demonstrated the value of his 20-plus years of industry knowledge and leadership capabilities," said Soistman. "Bob is a results-oriented leader with a unique ability to lead change, which is a critical skill, particularly in this dynamic industry. His effectiveness in building internal and external relationships will prove to be successful as he leads HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance in identifying new solutions to controlling the escalating costs of health care and health insurance."
Throughout his career, Dawson has served in several executive capacities, including president and CEO of multiple large health plans. Prior to joining HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance, Dawson was the executive director of business development for the University of Miami Medical Group, where he was responsible for the business development activities for more than 800 physicians and two hospitals. He has also served as president and chief operating officer of Empowered Benefits, LLC, a consumer driven health care company based in North Carolina, and as president of Aetna Health Plans of Texas, Inc. He is a graduate of Davidson College in North Carolina.
A search is currently underway to fill the central Pennsylvania Executive Vice President position. Dawson will be based at HealthAmerica's headquarters in Harrisburg.
About HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance
HealthAmerica Pennsylvania, Inc., has a 29-year record in managed care. HealthAmerica, HealthAssurance Pennsylvania, Inc., and affiliate companies cover over 735,000 members in Pennsylvania and Ohio through HMO, POS, PPO, Medicaid, and Medicare Advantage plans. In addition, HealthAmerica earned an "Excellent" Accreditation for its HMO plan and HealthAssurance earned an "Excellent" Accreditation for the HealthAssurance POS by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to measuring the quality of America's health care. With corporate offices in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance provide managed health care products and services to over 11,000 employers in Pennsylvania and Ohio. HealthAmerica and its affiliates employ over 1,500 people in Pennsylvania. For more information, visit HealthAmerica's website at http://www.healthamerica.cvty.com/ .
HealthAmerica and HealthAssuranceCONTACT: Kendall Marcocci, Director of Communications of HealthAmericaand HealthAssurance, +1-717-540-6746, or kmarcocci@cvty.com
Web site: http://www.healthamerica.cvty.com/