Heather Cianfrocco has been named president of UnitedHealth Group's Optum, where she will lead its pharmacy and care delivery divisions through Optum Rx and Optum Health.
Ms. Cianfrocco, who previously served as CEO of Optum Rx, shared on her LinkedIn page Aug. 4 that she will work closely with Optum Health CEO Amar Desai, MD, and Optum Rx's new CEO Patrick Conway, MD.
She shared that her focus is on value-based care and the integration of medical, behavioral and pharmacy services, along with the "mission and the people we serve."
"I am proud of our work and proud to be part of this team — the perfect team to keep advancing our mission to help people live healthier lives and help make the health system work better for everyone," she wrote. "Because we can all agree we have more work to do and it will take all of us."
Ms. Cianfrocco joined UnitedHealth Group in 2008 as vice president of network operations in the Pittsburgh area. She then worked as a regional CEO across several UnitedHealthcare divisions, including Medicaid, Medicare and clinical strategy. She led Optum Health starting in 2020 and became CEO of the pharmacy benefit manager, Optum Rx, in 2021. Ms. Cianfrocco is an attorney by trade and previously practiced in Pittsburgh, with a focus on corporate and securities law, along with healthcare M&A.
Dr. Desai was named CEO of Optum's care delivery arm in July after spending the last year as president of healthcare delivery at CVS Health before joining UnitedHealth Group as executive-in-residence in April. He previously was president and CEO of Optum California and Optum Pacific West from 2019 to 2022. He also has experience as an associate clinical professor of medicine at Keck School of Medicine at USC in Los Angeles and served as president of HealthcarePartners, a DaVita Medical Group.
Dr. Conway announced he would become the next president of Optum Rx in an Aug. 3 LinkedIn post after serving as CEO of Optum Care Solutions since 2020. He was president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina from 2017 to 2019 and served in several top positions at CMS under the Obama administration, including chief medical officer, director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation and acting administrator.