WILMINGTON — Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware President Nicholas Moriello will depart from the company. His last day will be May 9.
Highmark Delaware representatives confirmed Friday that Moriello, who served as the market president for six years, had resigned from the company. Citing personnel matters, Highmark Delaware representatives declined to elaborate on the reason for his resignation.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners requires entities to provide the state agency with biographies of a change of officers, directors or key managerial personnel or those with a 10% onwership stake within 60 days of the change. The Delaware Department of Insurance said they were notified of Moriello’s resignation on April 24.
Moriello declined to comment for this story.
Highmark named vice president of commercial business Tom Fitzpatrick, as acting Delaware president. A nationwide search is underway for the role. Fitzpatrick is a graduate of University of Delaware and has been with Highmark since 1999 in various leadership roles.
The insurance company said that it has a “strong group of leaders in Delaware and our health plan for business continues uninterrupted.” Highmark posted a job description for Delaware Market President on April 30.
Highmark reached the First State after it merged with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware in 2012. Today, the Pittsburgh-based Highmark offers health insurance for 7 million people through insurance plans in Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, northeast and western New York.
In Delaware, Highmark is the largest health insurance provider and covers 640,000 people and many more through Medicaid. The Delaware market reported $2.6 billion in revenue for 2023. The Delaware Department of Insurance reports that the estimated coverage the company had was 34,956 people through the Affordable Care Act, as well as 20,074 in small group and 24,197 large group health insurance policies.
The Delaware Department of Insurance recently completed two investigations into Highmark, including fining the insurance provider $363,570 for improper ambulance reimbursements. A second case found Highmark committed several violations of the Mental Health Parity Law, resulting in additional fines. Complaints are not public records, so the department declined to make the number of open complaints available to the Delaware Business Times.
Moriello is a career insurance executive, starting in the 1990s when JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a brief foray into the industry. He later joined his father at Health Insurance Associates, which became Delaware’s largest independent insurance agency through a key contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware.
By the time discussions started around the Affordable Care Act, Moriellio became known for his knowledge of the law and willingness to offer insights to those on Capitol Hill. That got insurance executives’ attention which led to Moriello taking on a leadership role at Highmark.
Under his leadership, Highmark has grown its market share in Delaware with the company reporting 64% of eligible Delawareans are consumers. Moriello also led an effort to establish a joint venture agreement with ChristianaCare and Bayhealth called Medicaid Advantage.
Through his leadership Highmark has offered $41 million in grants through the BluePrints for the Community program which offers funds for initiatives focused on health care and healthy communities. Highmark told DBT that its commitment to that program will continue.
Moriello was also heavily involved in Delaware philanthropic matters and serves on the board for the Wilmington Alliance, the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and he is also appointed to the Delaware Health Care Commission.
Delaware Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro told the Delaware Business Times that while he did not always agree with Moriello, he respected that he was willing to have hard conversations, which he believed resulted in “improved outcomes and trust.”
“Delaware’s health care landscape has undergone significant change over my time in office. There were many years where Highmark was the sole provider of Affordable Care Act coverage here, sticking with Delawareans when no other company would,” Navarro wrote in an email. “I attribute much of that dedication to Nick, his being local and not just at a far-off headquarters, and his service to our state in other ways that drive that deep level of understanding — including his work with nonprofits and the Health Care Commission.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional information and quotes from the Delaware Department of Insurance as well as its investigation into Highmark.
