Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas Announces Executive Changes

    RICHARDSON, Texas, April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield
 of Texas (BCBSTX) has announced that former commissioner of the Texas
 Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) and the Texas Department of
 Health (TDH), Eduardo J. Sanchez, M.D., has been named vice president and
 chief medical officer of BCBSTX, effective May 30, 2008. Most recently,
 Sanchez served as the director of the Institute for Health Policy, School
 of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
 
     In his new role, Dr. Sanchez, who is a graduate of The University of
 Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas, with a master's in public
 health from The University of Texas Health Science Center and a master's in
 biomedical engineering from Duke University, will play a key part in
 helping BCBSTX fulfill its mission of improving the health and well-being
 of members and communities across the state.
 
     "We are pleased that Dr. Sanchez has joined the Blue Cross management
 team," says Darren Rodgers, president, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.
 "Dr. Sanchez, who has been highly visible in the Texas health care
 community for many years, will oversee the Texas Division's medical policy
 and strategy as well as the company's new wellness initiative."
 
     Prior to taking the position at The University of Texas Health Science
 Center, Sanchez served from 2004 - 2006 as TDSHS commissioner, where he
 oversaw the operations of the 11,500-employee state agency responsible for
 public health, mental health and substance abuse, including Texas' health
 and medical responses to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As TDH commissioner
 from 2001 to 2004, Sanchez oversaw the development of the TDH bioterrorism
 preparedness operations following 9/11 and the anthrax scare, directed the
 agency's efforts to heighten awareness about overweight and obesity issues
 in Texas, and led the formation of the TDSHS from four agencies.
 
     He has received honors from many health-related organizations, such as
 the Texas Health Institute, American Heart Association and American Academy
 of Family Physicians. Currently, he is chair of the National Commission on
 Prevention Priorities, chair of the Advisory Committee to the Director of
 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a member of numerous
 professional associations.
 
     Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas -- the only statewide,
 customer-owned health insurer in Texas -- is the largest provider of health
 benefits in the state, working with nearly 40,000 physicians and 400
 hospitals to serve 3.8 million members in all 254 counties. Blue Cross and
 Blue Shield of Texas is a Division of Health Care Service Corporation
 (HCSC), the country's largest non-investor-owned health insurer and fourth
 largest health insurer overall. HCSC is a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and
 an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
 
 
 

SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas