Blue Cross and Blue Shield Hires Diane Howell as Vice President of Benefit Operations

BATON ROUGE, La. – Diane Howell joined Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana as vice president, Benefit Operations – Core Systems Configuration & Operational Reporting on April 15. Howell brings 16 years of experience in business systems analysis and healthcare management applications.

Howell will report to Blue Cross Senior Vice President, Benefit Operations, Gina Laird. She will be responsible for the leadership and direction of teams that manage configuration and testing of the company’s core systems and services, including divisional reporting and analytics.

“Diane will oversee multiple complex projects concurrently and influence change in a fast-paced environment,” said Laird. “Her experience and strong decision-making skills will allow Blue Cross to make best use of our investments in technology.”

Howell comes to Blue Cross from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield in Baltimore, where she served as senior director, Facets Integration, Delivery & Support. Before CareFirst, she worked for the TriZetto Group in Denver and as senior business systems analyst at Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina. 

She graduated summa cum laude with a Master of Science in Computer Information Technologies from Regis University in Denver, where she also earned her Bachelor of Sciences in Computer Information Technologies, magna cum laude.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is committed to our mission to improve the health and lives of Louisianians. We invest both time and money in the communities we serve, supporting the health and wellbeing of Louisianians through more than 200 charitable organizations.

With our subsidiaries, HMO Louisiana and Southern National Life, we provide group and individual health insurance plans, life and disability insurance, group voluntary products and administrative services to one out of four Louisiana residents. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana also provides Medicare supplement and Medicare Advantage plans and is a partner in offering the Healthy Blue Medicaid Managed care plan. Louisiana is the only state where we operate, with offices in every major region to serve our customers.

Founded in New Orleans in 1934, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is a tax-paying non-profit health insurer. We are a private mutual company, owned by our policyholders, with an independent Louisiana Board of Directors and no shareholders. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

To learn more, visit our website at www.bcbsla.com.