Alumni Spotlight - Dan Loepp

Alumni Spotlight

Dan Loepp, Class of 1975 President and CEO of Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Michigan

As a high school student, Dan Loepp found calculus challenging. Forty years later, as the CEO of Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM), Dan runs a company that has more than 7,000 employees, nearly $21 billion in revenue in 2012 - the third highest in the State, and provides coverage for over 4.5 million people. He’s gotten over that calculus issue. One of the state’s 2013 “Michiganians of the Year,” Dan’s path to becoming one of the state’s community leaders began at Guardian Angels Grade School in Detroit. Dan’s older brothers, Robert, ‘68, and Thomas, ‘70, both had “great experiences” at De La Salle. From second grade on, Dan knew he would follow in their footsteps. “I wanted to do what they were doing.” And, Dan says, “My parents wouldn’t have it any other way.” During high school, Dan was involved in a variety of activities, including the yearbook and newspaper, the Student Council, and the school plays. “I learned to tap dance with Miss Joan (Mossner),” Dan says. “De La Salle was a wonderful place to meet people. At an all-boys’ school, you are able to try things you would never try in another environment. They made you go out on a limb and do something you normally wouldn’t do.” Dan fondly remembers his teachers. “Brother George Synan taught all three of us Loepps. I also remember Tony DeSantis and Tony Mensen. Brother Anthony Flynn was a good guy. I had Evo Alberti for French for three years. “All the teachers were committed and so interested in the students.” Dan remembers that regardless of the teacher, “Everyone was a stickler for correct writing.” During his junior year, John Hertel, then running for State Senate, spoke to the Student Council. The speech inspired Dan to became involved in Hertel’s political campaign. His political fire lit, Dan went on to Wayne State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in Communication in 1982, and a Master’s in Political Communication in 1986. “I figured that was the best way to get involved in politics. I thought of teaching, but I like to write.”

Chief of Staff

Dan remained involved with the Hertel family, working as a staff member for Dennis Hertel, a U.S. Congressman. Dan also ran a trade association with another Hertel brother, Curtis. The two young men joked that if Curtis became Speaker of the Michigan House, Dan would become his Chief of Staff. But that dream was no joke, as the Democratic Curtis Hertel became the co-speaker of the House during the 1993-94 legislative session with Republican Paul Hillegonds. With neither party in the majority (each had 55 seats), Dan quickly came to embrace the importance of finding consensus to get things done. Dan kept copious notes during that session with co-speakers, and wrote a book on the experience, published by the University of Michigan press, called “Sharing the Balance of Power – An Examination of Shared Power in the Michigan House of Representatives 1993-1994.” Detroit Free Press Business Writer Carol Cain calls it a “must-read for those into the legislative process and how to skillfully navigate divisive issues.”

Building Consensus

That ability to collaborate and find common ground has served Dan well at BCBSM. He joined the company in 2000, and has been CEO since 2006. Under Dan’s direction, BCBSM has launched several major initiatives that are transforming health care in Michigan and serving as models for the nation.

Dan Loepp, Class of 1975

One program, the largest of its kind in the United States, is the Patient-Centered Medical Home Program, widely recognized as the future model for primary care medicine. The program has reduced emergency room visits, radiology procedures, and hospital admissions, saving the Michigan health care system millions of dollars. Dan says, “No matter who you talk to, the number one issue in business is the cost of health care. We need to continue to innovate, to find new products, to teach people to take better care of themselves. There’s a lot to do. The work is never done in the health care field.” Dan played a major role working with leadership of the national Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association to introduce “Pathway to Covering America,” a plan that helped pave the way for national reform. Of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, he says, “It’s not a perfect law. There are good parts and parts not so good. The bottom line is it’s passed, and we have to implement it. We cover 4.5 million people here in Michigan who expect this to work.” He adds, “It’s not going to go away. Parts are going to get changed and get tweaked.”

Producing Savings, Benefitting Patients

But BCBSM is more than the payer in the system. Dan is a big believer in collaboratives, and says that “without being cooperative and collaborative, it’s much harder to get things done.” Under Dan’s leadership, the BCBSM Collaborative Quality Initiative (CQI) has produced substantial savings - more than $232.8 million from 2008 to 2010, more than $400 million in 2012. He estimates as much of two-thirds of the savings actually benefitted patients outside of BCBSM, such as those on Medicare or Medicaid, or those enrolled in other private health plans. As a result of CQI, hospitals have identified better ways to practice medicine, eliminate errors, and improve patient outcomes. Blue Cross supports them financially so they have the data and the ability to work together, in a non-competitive environment, to identify best practices. The University of Michigan Health System serves as the coordinating center, collecting and analyzing data from participating institutions.

Making a Mark on Michigan

But Dan Loepp is also making a mark on more than the way health care is delivered in Michigan. He has a personal signature on the efforts to revitalize downtowns in Detroit, Lansing, Traverse City, and Grand Rapids. BCBSM moved nearly 3,400 employees from suburban Southfield to downtown Detroit over 2011 and 2012, the second largest corporate relocation in the nation at that time. Today, nearly 6,400 workers are in the heart of the central business district, cited by local business leaders and national news media as a catalyst to other companies. BCBSM will save $35 million in the first 15 years of the move. “It makes financial sense, but there is no doubt that my longstanding love for the City of Detroit had something to do with it,” Dan says. BCBSM helped bring employees into Detroit as residents through a program called Live Downtown that provides incentives for workers to buy or rent homes. In Lansing, Dan’s vision for a stronger urban core led Accident Fund Holdings, a BCBSM subsidiary, to transform

Alumni Spotlight, Continued

a long abandoned power plant, situated on the riverfront between the city’s convention center and its largest hotel, into the company’s new headquarters. The building, which will eventually house more than 1,000 workers, spurred housing, retail, and restaurant development in downtown Lansing. Kiplinger’s named Lansing one of the Top 10 Cities for Young Adults in 2011. BCBSM moved employees in Grand Rapids into a renovated historic department store building in 2004, and moved into downtown Traverse City in 2013. The moves stem from Dan’s belief that building density and creating critical mass helps cities become magnets to attract additional businesses and jobs. In 2010, Dan’s relationships with like-minded business leaders resulted in a fresh approach between BCBSM and Strategic Staffing Solutions to start “in-sourcing” information technology work to Detroit companies. The endeavor was launched amid a wave of outsourcing to China and elsewhere. BCBSM is a major contributor to the construction of a light rail line to link downtown Detroit with the suburbs, and along with other area businesses, contributed to the purchase of 23 additional emergency medical vehicles and 100 police cruisers to serve the people of Detroit Dan sees the Detroit bankruptcy as unfortunate, but says, “There are two stories. One story is about a broken city government that has to be fixed. The other story is that this is not a fundamentally broken city or region. There’s a real genuine sort of buzz and spirit in downtown Detroit and you can feel it. If you spend any time downtown, you know it’s hard to find a parking spot. The Ren Cen occupancy is at 95%. Condos and apartments and office buildings are filling up more and more. There are a lot of good things happening in the region.”

Commitment to Community

Dan sees institutions like DLS and BCBSM as important to the region’s future. “It’s about commitment. In my experience, students - from the time DLS opened - see the commitments of their parents sacrificing. In some cases, as in my family, that sacrifice is over a period of several years. And students see the commitments of the teachers and brothers working long hours - and they’re not doing it for the pay. You see that commitment, and know the expectation is commit to yourself. After four years, the whole DLS experience has impacted how you live. DLS impacted me, and I think it impacts the vast majority of students. “BCBSM is committed to community. We know we’re going to be here 5, 10, 15 years from now. Accordingly, we act in a much more community way.” Although Dan has extensive government experience, he has no desire to run for political office. “Health care is the most politicized thing in our country. My position is 24 - 7, and there’s a lot of ‘politics’ involved. Being able to run a large company and help people keeps me plenty busy and occupied.” And Dan may have another book in him. “I have so much respect for people who write books. The research that’s done is incredible. Ultimately, I’ll probably write one about my Blue Cross Blue Shield experience. “I’m not going anywhere. I have an all-encompassing job, and picture myself doing this until I decide it’s time to improve my golf game. “I am in my hometown. I root for the Tigers, the Lions, the Pistons, the Wings. “And I root for the Pilots.”