2015 Distinguished Leader Award Recipient

Daniel J. Hilferty
President and CEO
Independence Blue Cross
Daniel J. Hilferty is president and chief executive officer of Independence Blue Cross, one of the nation’s leading health insurers. Since Mr. Hilferty became CEO in 2010, the number of people the company serves has tripled to nearly 10 million in 25 states and the District of Columbia, including 2.5 million in southeastern Pennsylvania.
As CEO, Mr. Hilferty’s vision is to lead the transformation of the health care system in America, seeking innovative technologies and new models of care that will increase the quality and lower the cost of care. He led the creation of the Independence Blue Cross Center for Health Care Innovation that oversees the corporation’s innovation initiatives. Mr. Hilferty has also built business collaborations with world-renowned institutions such as the University of Pennsylvania to conduct cutting-edge medical research and partnered with Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans and other dynamic leaders in health care to purchase leading health care companies, including AmeriHealth Caritas, one of the country’s largest Medicaid managed care companies, and NaviNet, which manages the nation’s largest interactive health care network. In addition, Independence launched Tandigm Health, a unique joint venture that will help deliver high-quality, affordable care by arming primary care physicians with the tools and support they need to better manage difficult chronic conditions and deliver more personalized care.
Mr. Hilferty is a sought after speaker on a wide range of topics including leadership, reforming health care, and the role of technology and big data in the transformation of care. Mr. Hilferty has appeared in national media such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and MSNBC. He’s among a select group of nonpartisan health care executives that President Obama has reached out to for advice on implementing health care reform.
Mr. Hilferty serves on the board of directors for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) and is chairman of the BCBSA’s Health Policy and Advocacy Committee. He also serves on the board of Blue-owned BCS Financial, an innovation partner for Blue companies. He also serves on the executive committee of the board of directors of America’s Health Insurance Plans and on the board of Tandigm Health.
Deeply committed to the Philadelphia region, Mr. Hilferty serves on the boards for the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, St. Joseph’s University, the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, the Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia, and FS Investment Corporation III.
After Mr. Hilferty earned his undergraduate degree from St. Joseph’s University, he served in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and ran a community center in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. After earning a Master of Public Administration degree from American University, where he received a teaching assistantship in statistical analysis, he returned to the Philadelphia area where he lives with his wife, Joan. The couple has five children: Coeli, Dan, John, Maris, and Matt.
President and CEO
Independence Blue Cross
Daniel J. Hilferty is president and chief executive officer of Independence Blue Cross, one of the nation’s leading health insurers. Since Mr. Hilferty became CEO in 2010, the number of people the company serves has tripled to nearly 10 million in 25 states and the District of Columbia, including 2.5 million in southeastern Pennsylvania.
As CEO, Mr. Hilferty’s vision is to lead the transformation of the health care system in America, seeking innovative technologies and new models of care that will increase the quality and lower the cost of care. He led the creation of the Independence Blue Cross Center for Health Care Innovation that oversees the corporation’s innovation initiatives. Mr. Hilferty has also built business collaborations with world-renowned institutions such as the University of Pennsylvania to conduct cutting-edge medical research and partnered with Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans and other dynamic leaders in health care to purchase leading health care companies, including AmeriHealth Caritas, one of the country’s largest Medicaid managed care companies, and NaviNet, which manages the nation’s largest interactive health care network. In addition, Independence launched Tandigm Health, a unique joint venture that will help deliver high-quality, affordable care by arming primary care physicians with the tools and support they need to better manage difficult chronic conditions and deliver more personalized care.
Mr. Hilferty is a sought after speaker on a wide range of topics including leadership, reforming health care, and the role of technology and big data in the transformation of care. Mr. Hilferty has appeared in national media such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and MSNBC. He’s among a select group of nonpartisan health care executives that President Obama has reached out to for advice on implementing health care reform.
Mr. Hilferty serves on the board of directors for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) and is chairman of the BCBSA’s Health Policy and Advocacy Committee. He also serves on the board of Blue-owned BCS Financial, an innovation partner for Blue companies. He also serves on the executive committee of the board of directors of America’s Health Insurance Plans and on the board of Tandigm Health.
Deeply committed to the Philadelphia region, Mr. Hilferty serves on the boards for the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, St. Joseph’s University, the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, the Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia, and FS Investment Corporation III.
After Mr. Hilferty earned his undergraduate degree from St. Joseph’s University, he served in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and ran a community center in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. After earning a Master of Public Administration degree from American University, where he received a teaching assistantship in statistical analysis, he returned to the Philadelphia area where he lives with his wife, Joan. The couple has five children: Coeli, Dan, John, Maris, and Matt.