Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Names Dr. Tenbit Emiru Chief Medical Officer

SYRACUSE, NY – Excellus BlueCross BlueShield today announced that Tenbit Emiru, MD, PhD, MBA has joined the organization and its parent company, The Lifetime Healthcare Companies, as enterprise chief medical officer (CMO) and senior vice president of medical services.

In this role, Emiru will provide executive clinical leadership and strategic oversight for the enterprise, supporting efforts to improve health outcomes, enhance member and provider experience, and advance affordable, high-quality care.

“Dr. Emiru brings a strong combination of clinical expertise and strategic leadership at an important time for our organization,” said Dr. Marty Stallone, executive vice president and chief healthcare services officer. “Her experience leading complex healthcare organizations and her focus on improving quality, affordability and collaboration will help us continue delivering better outcomes for our members and communities.”

Emiru will lead teams responsible for healthcare engagement, quality, health outcomes and medical services across the organization. As the health plan’s senior clinical leader, she will help guide clinical priorities, support ways to improve quality and outcomes while managing costs, and work with provider partners to make care more coordinated and effective for members.

A mission-driven healthcare executive, Emiru brings deep experience from both health plans and health systems. Most recently, she served as executive vice president and chief medical officer for a nonprofit health plan in Minnesota. Her work has focused on fostering collaboration among physicians, hospitals and care teams to improve quality, manage costs and enhance the patient experience.

“I'm excited to join Excellus BlueCross BlueShield at a time of continued transformation in healthcare,” said Emiru. “I look forward to working with teams across the organization and with our provider partners to improve outcomes, expand access and ensure our members receive high-quality care.”

Emiru’s leadership will support the organization’s continued focus on improving care, advancing health equity and helping members and communities across upstate New York access high-quality care that is more coordinated, effective and affordable.

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Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, is a nonprofit health plan with 1.5 million upstate New York members. The company's mission is to help people live healthier and more secure lives through access to high-quality, affordable health care. Its products and services include cost-saving prescription drug discounts, wellness tracking tools and access to telemedicine. With more than 4,200 employees, the company is committed to attracting and retaining a diverse workforce to foster innovation and better serve its members. It also encourages employees to engage in their communities by providing paid volunteer time off as one of many benefits. To learn more, visit ExcellusBCBS.com.