Minnetonka-based Medica said Thursday that longtime chief executive David Tilford is retiring after 16 years leading one of the state's largest health insurers.
Tilford's tenure goes back to the tumultuous period in 2001 when former Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch pushed for a split between Medica and Allina Health System, the large network of hospitals and clinics that was the insurer's parent company at the time.
He was officially named CEO in 2003. Tilford, 61, will be replaced by John Naylor, who currently is senior vice president of Medica's commercial markets division.
"I want to thank David for the 16 years of leadership he has provided Medica," said John Buck, chairman of the board at Medica, in a statement. "Under his guidance, Medica grew from a newly independent organization in 2001 to one of the leading health plans in the region today."
Naylor, 53, will become CEO immediately, with Tilford available to assist this month during the transition. Naylor takes over at a time when Medica, like many other health insurers, is struggling with changes under the federal Affordable Care Act.
Medica has lost millions in the individual market, where the health law in 2014 abolished preexisting condition exclusions that insurers previously used to control costs. As a result, Medica for 2017 was one of several health plans granted enrollment caps to limit the potential for further financial losses in the individual market.
Carriers have generally profited thanks to health law expansions of the state-federal Medicaid program, but Medica late last year said it would surrender a major contract in Minnesota's Medicaid program after suffering significant losses last year.
Naylor joined Medica in April 2010. He has more than 30 years of industry experience, including work with Willis Towers Watson (formerly Towers Perrin) for 21 years.
