FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  July 22, 2011

DALLAS/FORT WORTH – J. Darren Rodgers, President of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, speaks with KERA host, Lee Cullum, on this month’s episode of CEO. As the national battle over health care reform continues to escalate, questions remain on who will pay and at what price. “We’re really just going down the first steps of what’s going to be a long road,” says Rodgers. The president of the largest health insurer in Texas, J. Darren Rodgers discusses sweeping changes to the healthcare industry, the preventive measures his company is taking to combat staggering medical costs and the industry’s future.

KERA’s CEO features insightful discussions with successful North Texas business leaders from the corporate and not-for-profit sectors about what it takes to make a company successful in today’s global marketplace and changing economy. The July episode featuring J. Darren Rodgers airs Friday, July 29 at 7:00 p.m. on KERA TV with rebroadcasts Sunday, July 31 at 11:30 a.m. and Monday, August 1 at 10:30 p.m. CEO can be heard at 5:00 p.m. Sunday, July 31, 2011, on KERA FM. Following the initial on-air broadcast, the half-hour program will be available on www.kera.org/ceo. Previous CEO episodes are available on demand at www.kera.org/ceo.

CEO is sponsored by Southwest Securities, the Executive Education Center at the University of Texas at Dallas, The Berry Firm and Sewell Automotive Companies. For more information about Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, visit www.bcbstx.com.

ABOUT J. DARREN RODGERS

J. Darren Rodgers is responsible for promoting the health and wellness of over 4.6 million members of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) and all the communities the company serves by ensuring access to cost-effective, quality health care.  Before assuming the presidency of BCBSTX, Darren held three other officer-level positions with the company.  He has been with BCBSTX since March of 1992. 

Rodgers is proud to serve as president of the Caring for Children Foundation of Texas, Inc. which provides access to free immunizations and health screenings for medically underserved populations in Texas.  Additionally, Rodgers serves on the board of directors of several other nonprofit corporations including the Texas Health Institute which brings together representatives from business, health care and government to identify and analyze emerging scenarios in the health care industry, Texas CASA which advocates for abused and neglected children in the court system and is the current chairman of the board of The Health Industry Council of the North Texas Region.  Texas Governor Rick Perry appointed Rodgers to the board of the Texas Health Services Authority which promotes and coordinates the development of electronic health information exchange in Texas.

ABOUT CEO

Host Lee Cullum conducts insightful discussions with successful North Texas business leaders from the corporate and not-for-profit sectors about what it takes to make a company successful in today’s global marketplace and changing economy. CEO episodes are available on-demand at www.kera.org/ceo.

ABOUT KERA

KERA is a not-for-profit public media organization that serves the people of North Texas. The station broadcasts to the fourth-largest population area in the United States. KERA produces original multimedia content, carries the best in national and international public television and radio programs, and provides online resources at www.kera.org. The station’s extensive coverage of the arts can be found at www.artandseek.org. KERA-TV broadcasts on Channel 13.1. KERA WORLD broadcasts on 13.2. KERA-FM broadcasts on 90.1 in Dallas/Fort Worth/Denton, 88.3 in Wichita Falls, 100.1 in Tyler and 99.3 in Sherman. The music station KXT 91.7 FM is also streamed online at www.kxt.org.

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CONTACT:

Christopher Wagley

Director, Marketing & Communications

KERA, KXT and Art&Seek

cwagley@kera.org

214-740-9377