On April 1, Peak Health Alliance announced the appointment of Richard Cimino as its new executive director. Alliance describes itself as a leading advocate for healthcare solutions in rural Colorado.

“My goal is to fight for the customers, the clients, and the people who deserve to get quality healthcare at affordable prices that they can understand,” Cimino stated in the press release. “I will work with providers and carriers to reduce government burden and system complexity. I will primarily be the advocate for the healthcare customer and, with our partners, work to deliver affordable quality healthcare.”

He is currently an elected member to the Grand County Board of County Commissioners and has been serving on the Peak Health Alliance Board of Directors for four years. In addition, Cimino serves on the Colorado Health Insurance Affordability Enterprise Board.

Anne Ladd was the previous CEO of Peak Health and expressed confidence in her successor.

“It was important to me to ensure Peak found a quality insurance partner and was stable for the future before I retired,” Ladd said. “I am excited about where Peak stands now and believe this is a good time to bring in fresh, visionary leadership. I firmly believe Rich is the right person for the job now.”

Peak Health Alliance partners with Elevate Health Plans by Denver Health Medical Plan to provide health insurance in a total of nine Colorado counties, including Grand, Montezuma, Lake, San Juan and Summit counties.

As executive director, Cimino says he aims to champion the interests of healthcare consumers while fostering transparency.