Beacon Health hires former Anthem Blue Cross and Centene executive

Beacon Health Options, behavioral health care solutions provider, has appointed Richard Lynch as executive vice president and market president for the Northeast region, which includes Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

In his new position, Lynch will be responsible for the Beacon client experience and the region's financial performance. Based in Boston, he will report to Tim Murphy, Beacon's chief executive officer.

"Richard brings to Beacon a dynamic combination of 30 years of experience in health care management and delivery, along with a passion for effecting meaningful change in our industry," said Murphy. "His in-depth knowledge of the Northeast region will allow him to hit the ground running and help us deepen our relationships with existing clients and grow our footprint in the marketplace."

Lynch served as chairman, president and CEO of CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts, a subsidiary of Centene, which pioneered an innovative coverage initiative with the Massachusetts Health Connector, and Celtic Insurance, which was the managed health care company's vehicle for its national Health Exchange insurance product. In both of these positions, he led efforts to create groundbreaking products designed to achieve increased access to health insurance and value to members, providers, and policymakers.

Prior to his tenure at Centene, Lynch was in charge of health care management for the Northeast region at Anthem Blue Cross. In this capacity, he was responsible for all medical management, quality, and provider network contracting for both commercial and government products. He also is a 12-year veteran of Tufts Health Plan of Massachusetts, where he led the plan's network management and operations departments.

Most recently, Lynch served as president of Houseworks, a home health care company, responsible for strategy development and day-to-day operations.

Lynch serves on the Board of Directors of two nonprofits – Whitter Street Health Center Foundation and Eastern Adaptive Sports, and is a member of the Leadership Council for the Kenneth B. Schwartz Center. He is also an independent board member of a joint venture between Derry Medical and VillageMD, which focuses on enhancing health care delivery in New Hampshire.