Get to know our new Senior Vice President of Health Care Services

Dr. Stephen Friedhoff joined Blue Cross NC at the beginning of 2022. As the Senior Vice President of Health Care Services, he is responsible for relationships with health care providers, medical policy, corporate pharmacy, appeals, care management, and overall leadership of our Health Care Division.

We asked Dr. Friedhoff 5 questions about himself and his background as a family physician and clinical educator. Learn more about him and join us in saying welcome to the team!

1.    You were a practicing physician until 2015. What drove your initial interest in health care and how did your experience as a doctor impact your work as an executive?

For most of my childhood and teens, I wanted to be a veterinarian. Early in high school, I joined my local volunteer EMS and became an EMT. That changed everything. I volunteered in ERs and for EMS units throughout high school and college and that ultimately led me to pursue medical school.

As a practicing doc, I impacted one patient at a time. As an educator of medical students and medical residents, I had an influence (hopefully positive and beyond the “book learning”) on many more patients. As a health care executive, that influence on population health grew exponentially. It’s easy to get so busy, stressed, or wrapped in our day job that we forget what we’re all about. I often use the phrase North Star when referring to the Health Care team. It’s a way to remind us of the role we play in people’s lives. I remind myself to think that way all the time and encourage you to do the same, constantly evaluating why we are doing what we are doing.

2.    When it comes to work, what are you passionate about?

At the risk of sounding trite, paying it forward. There have been a few people in my career who took a chance on me, mentored me, challenged me to shoot higher, called me out in constructive ways when I made mistakes, and supported me when times were tough.

I’m always honored when I can have a similar impact on someone’s career, whether they are starting out or looking for the next level. The added benefit is that I always learn something from them, too!

3.    What do you see as the biggest challenges for the Health Care Division, both short and long term?

Short term, it’s about maintaining focus, working together as One Team, and developing a unified strategy.

Longer term, we have to live in two different health care worlds and several places in between. While Blue Cross NC has been highly successful in value-based care and will continue to expand, it’s highly likely that many providers (and patients) will remain in a traditional fee-for-service setting or somewhere along a continuum. Meeting providers where they are and enabling them to better care for patients through financial incentives, data sharing, care management programs, and similar will continue to evolve in maturity and complexity. To best serve our members and providers, we have to operate at many points across that spectrum.

4.    We’ve recently adopted a Hybrid Flex approach to work. What do you see as some of the benefits of this way of working?

While NC and the Triangle area are great places to live and work, Hybrid Flex allows associates a tremendous amount of flexibility in their lives! Video conferencing, for all its flaws, also gives us glimpses into each other’s lives. The décor behind the desk, the dog barking, the cat walking across the keyboard, the child who can’t wait for mom and dad to be done with work, the family member bringing a snack or breezing by in the background. These are all insights to each other’s lives that we never had before! It brings a greater depth to the humanity that we all share, and I’ve been grateful to know my colleagues even better than before in some ways.

5.    You enjoy being outdoors. What kinds of activities do you enjoy?

Just about anything where I’m in motion! Walking, hiking, running, trail or road biking, kayaking and sailing, to name a few. By the way, when’s the first day of Summer?

Dr. Friedhoff is a seasoned executive and physician with more than 20 years of experience in clinical and administrative leadership roles. You can learn more about his past experiences and the other members of our leadership team by visiting our website.