MacDonald to lead public policy and government affairs work
Today, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst), the largest not-for-profit health plan in the mid-Atlantic region, announced Charlene MacDonald‘s role as Senior Vice President, Public Policy & Government Affairs (Chief Government Affairs Officer) following an extensive executive search.
As the leader of the Public Policy and Government Affairs team at CareFirst, MacDonald will use her combined expertise in policy, leadership, external affairs, and executive skillset acquisition to sharpen CareFirst’s engagement in actions that have the greatest impact. MacDonald is known as a thought leader in health policy circles and is widely sought after for her advice on the most pressing challenges in the healthcare delivery space.
“Charlene’s time on Capitol Hill was centrally focused on policy efforts to protect and expand access to care. She has a sterling reputation as a leader in health policy and has considerable depth on the issues important and relevant to the communities and people we serve, illustrated by her time serving as Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of the Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD),” CareFirst President and CEO Brian D. Pieninck said.
“This experience, paired with her background in the private sector and trade associations, gives her the policy skills, political know-how, relationship equity, and enterprise-wide view to lead our mission-aligned function for CareFirst.”
Most recently, MacDonald served as Senior Managing Director, Head of Healthcare and Life Sciences at FTI Consulting, where she led a diverse team of professionals engaged in stakeholder engagement campaigns on behalf of health systems, trade associations, coalitions, and corporate clients. As a counselor to Boards of Directors and CEOs as a Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting, Charlene acquired the requisite experience interacting with C-Suite executives in a collaborative, inclusive manner which helped her grow the practice significantly in a short amount of time. She also served in numerous policy and legislative affairs roles at the federal and state level, advocating for health issues.
“Achieving systemic change in healthcare requires an effective working relationship between business and government,” MacDonald said. “My role is to forge those partnerships to promote quality, affordable, equitable healthcare in the communities we serve. What was attractive to me about CareFirst is that that focus, that sense of mission, truly comes from the top.”
With a leadership philosophy centered around being inclusive and leaning into the strengths of her team members, MacDonald has a standard of excellence but displays leadership by walking the talk.
MacDonald additionally serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Capital Area Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association and volunteers for the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps.
About CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
In its 85th year of service, CareFirst, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is a not-for-profit healthcare company which, through its affiliates and subsidiaries, offers a comprehensive portfolio of health insurance products and administrative services to 3.6 million individuals and employers in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia. In 2021, CareFirst invested $26.2 million to improve overall health, and increase the accessibility, affordability, safety and quality of healthcare throughout its market areas. To learn more about CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, visit our website at www.carefirst.com and our transforming healthcare page at www.carefirst.com/transformation, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.
