Leadership

James Springfield

President, Texas Plan and Senior Vice President, Markets

James Springfield leads the overall strategic direction of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas to drive long-term growth and financial stability, as well as the enterprise growth strategy for Individual and Family Markets.

Before joining the BCBSTX, James was the national Chief Operating Officer at Cancer Treatment Centers of America where he was responsible for transforming strategic, operating, financial and delivery models to respond effectively to the rapidly changing health care marketplace. He previously held leadership roles at Memorial Hermann Health System, Valley Baptist Health System and Optum, a division of UnitedHealth Group. James is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and has degrees from Baylor University and University of Houston–Clear Lake.

Dr. Mark Chassay, MD, MEd, MBA

Chief Medical Officer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas

Dr. Mark Chassay works to strategically align the organization’s voice around policy development, leads Texas Health Care Management teams, and supports sales and account management, network, and plan performance efforts.

Previously, Dr. Chassay was Senior Vice Provost for Clinical Affairs and Healthcare Partnerships at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. He earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Executive Healthcare Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas, and Master of Education degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Trip Pilgrim

Divisional Senior Vice President, Enterprise Network Contracting

Trip Pilgrim is responsible for contracting and collaborating with providers in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Montana to improve optimal health outcomes and enhance quality of care for our members. As an accomplished thought leader, he brings invaluable direction and expertise to some of BCBSTX’s most important business functions. 

Trip contributes more than 35 years of experience in numerous senior leadership roles in facility and divisional level operations, mergers and acquisitions, and consulting at prominent hospital systems and health care organizations. He earned a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Vanderbilt University.

Jessie Quick

Divisional Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing

Jessie Quick leads sales and client management for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas group market segments. She is passionate about ensuring BCBSTX continues to deliver customer-centric excellence by anticipating client needs and offering innovative, data-driven solutions. She is also accountable for strategic marketing operations and field services, as well as support and marketing communications.

Since joining in 2009 as a Senior Sales Executive, Jessie has ascended the organization to serve in several critical leadership roles. Prior to joining BCBSTX, Jessie held various sales positions at Cigna/Great-West Healthcare, as well as American United Life and Metropolitan Life insurance companies. She has a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and is a graduate of Leadership Dallas.

Pati McCandless

Vice President, Government Relations

Pati McCandless advocates for continued improvement to the health care system in her role as Vice President, Government Relations.

Before taking on this role, Pati served as Vice President for State Health Policy for Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Prior to that, she represented numerous health insurance industry clients as counsel at Greenberg Traurig. Stakeholder Advisory Group for the State of Texas. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University and New York Law School.

Patty Escoe

Vice President, Texas Plan Operations

Patty Escoe leads the business performance management and operating model for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. She is charged with enhancing business performance and driving operational excellence.

Patty also leads the Texas Plan’s Community Affairs team, which includes her role as the President of The Caring Foundation of Texas, for which Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is the lead sponsor. In addition, she leads the Independent Dispute Resolution, privacy, security and legislative and regulatory implementation teams.

Patty has a bachelor’s degree in business and an MBA from Capella University. She is a graduate of Leadership Abilene, Leadership Amarillo/Canyon and Leadership Texas, a statewide leadership program for women. She has also earned the designation of Managed Healthcare Professional through the Health Insurance Association of America. 

Claire York

Vice President, Texas Public Markets

Claire York leads sales and account management for all Government and Public Sector business at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas and aims to continue delivering solutions for state and government employees that offer the highest quality of health care and care management for the best value. She is also accountable for supporting State and Local Government accounts through ongoing legislative changes, both federal- and state-based, and ensures solutions are driven by data analytics and member experience.

Claire previously worked for Accenture, LLC, where she oversaw claims and customer service system migration during the time Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and BCBSTX merged with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico. Claire earned a bachelor’s degree in physics and communication studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.