The chief executive of Massachusetts' largest private health insurer has resigned just weeks after the company announced a $149 million loss.
Cleve Killingsworth stepped down from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts on Monday, but a company spokesman said he was not forced out.
Spokesman Jay McQuaide said the 57-year-old Killingsworth, who lives in Newton, resigned to focus on speaking and writing about national health care issues. Killingsworth said in a written statement that he looks forward "to moving the discussion of quality and affordability to a national level."
Blue Cross said it lost $149.2 million in 2009 on revenue of $13 billion. The company also lost 89,000 subscribers.
Former chief executive William Van Faasen will run the company until a permanent replacement is hired.
