Summary

Story

WHEREAS, following a long and illustrious career in the health care and health insurance industry, Mary McWilliams was appointed Executive Director of the Puget Sound Health Alliance in June of 2008; and

WHEREAS, under her leadership, the organization expanded to a statewide organization and became the Washington Health Alliance; and

WHEREAS, Ms. McWilliams is credited with leading the Washington Health Alliance into “the new world of health care under the Affordable Care Act”; and

WHEREAS, Ms. McWilliams’ leadership skills have benefited such disparate organizations as the Seattle branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, both of which she has chaired, the Safe Crossing Foundation, and Puget Sound Energy; and

WHEREAS, Ms. McWilliams has been credited with guiding the state’s largest private health insurance company, Regence Blue Shield, from the red into the black during her first several years as that company’s CEO; and

WHEREAS, even though she was one of the earliest advocates for HMO’s, as Regence CEO, Ms. McWilliams introduced a new health plan product in 2003 that she called a “consumer-directed health plan” (CDHC), providing clients with more choice and more responsibility for personal health-care spending; and

WHEREAS, Ms. McWilliams has been recognized as a visionary, flexible, and creative leader who has helped guide an industry through many challenging times;

NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Metropolitan King County Council, recognize and congratulate

for four decades of leadership in the healthcare field and for all that she has done to transform the industry in the Pacific Northwest.

DATED this twenty second day of September, 2014.