Charles Levine has been placed as the vice president of provider network management at Premera Blue Cross in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. As one of the largest health plans in the Pacific Northwest, Premera and its LifeWise subsidiary provide comprehensive, tailored services to customers in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska that include innovative programs focused on wellness and prevention, disease management, and patient safety, delivered through health, life, vision, dental, stop-loss, disability, workforce wellness, and other related products and services. Premera is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, serving 2.1 million people, from individuals and families to Fortune 100 employer groups including Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, Paccar, and Alaska Airlines. Currently, Premera is a network of 27,000 physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers, with more than 3,500 employees. In his role, Chuck is responsible for the strategic leadership of provider contracting and relations for the Premera and LifeWise markets in multiple states. This includes managing and achieving targets on a unit cost budget, maintaining the stability of the provider networks, and maintaining high levels of provider satisfaction with Premera. He champions innovative approaches across the organization for managed care initiatives, including Medicare Advantage, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), and other managed care and government programs.
Before joining Premera, Chuck served as the vice president of network development and contracting for Coordinated Care, a health plan for underinsured and uninsured individuals in the state of Washington that is a subsidiary of the Centene Corporation. During his two-year tenure, Chuck was part of the successful growth of the plan from 38,000 to 225,000 members, and improved staffing to the appropriate level. After leaving Coordinated Care in 2015, Chuck founded his own healthcare organizational consulting firm, which has an emphasis on strategic provider network development and implementation, contracting, process improvement, payment innovation, and government programs, including ACA requirements and healthcare reform.
Previously, Chuck served as a regional vice president with Cigna HealthCare, leading the areas of total health, network operations, and national provider contracting, and as an executive director for provider relations and network services with Group Health Cooperative. He began his career as a technical writer with Westinghouse Corporation.
Chuck is originally from Pittsburgh, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in English and communications from the University of Pittsburgh. He also holds a master’s degree in English and creative writing from the University of Iowa. Chuck is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association, the Medical Group Management Association, and the American Public Health Association, and is active in the cause of diabetes.
