North Carolina’s insurance commissioner called on Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina to resign following DWI and child abuse charges.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina issued a statement Thursday saying that its president and CEO, Patrick Conway, was in a car accident in June.
News outlets report that court records show Conway was involved in a June crash on Interstate 85 in Randolph County. No one was injured, but Conway's two daughters were in the car at the time; he was charged with driving while impaired and misdemeanor child abuse.
A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 8.
In its statement Blue Cross said its board of trustees has reviewed the incident and decided to retain Conway, citing his leadership skills.
Late Wednesday night, Blue Cross NC’s Board of Trustees released a statement saying Conway resigned following the DUI arrest.
The statement reads:
Immediately following Dr. Conway’s accident, the BlueCross NC Board of Trustees began reviewing and monitoring the situation, with the help of outside counsel and other experts. As a part of its work, the specially convened committee of the Board reviewed public records and officer affidavits regarding the accident and arrest. However, new details have come to light, particularly notes from the arresting officers and contents from their investigative files of which the board was unaware. Based on this, the Board of Trustees gathered today to reexamine the situation and determine a course of action.
The BlueCross NC Board of Trustees has asked Dr. Conway for his resignation. Dr. Conway accepted the request and has issued his resignation effective immediately.
As a mission-driven organization, BlueCross NC is committed to doing business with honesty, integrity and fairness. The details that recently emerged related to Dr. Conway’s arrest depict behavior that falls short of our standards. Despite Dr. Conway’s many successes during his tenure at BlueCross NC, we feel that our constituents are best served by naming an interim CEO and beginning a formal search for a permanent replacement.
As such, Chief Operating Officer Gerald Petkau will be the interim Chief Executive Officer of BlueCross NC, effective immediately. We are confident that the transition will be smooth, and that Gerald Petkau will continue to lead the fight to improve the quality of health services, lower costs, and deliver an overall exceptional experience for our members.
We hope that this action begins to rebuild a trusting relationship with our regulators and customers.
