Gail Boudreaux

Gail Boudreaux
Born	Gail Koziara
Nationality	American
Occupation	Business executive
Title	President and Chief Executive Officer
Employer	Elevance Health
Known for	President and CEO of Elevance Health (formerly Anthem, Inc.)

Gail Koziara Boudreaux is an American business executive who serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Elevance Health, one of the largest health insurance companies in the United States, formerly known as Anthem, Inc. Under her leadership, the company underwent a significant corporate rebranding and has navigated a complex and evolving healthcare landscape marked by rising costs, regulatory scrutiny, and shifting consumer expectations. Before assuming the top role at Anthem in 2017, Boudreaux held senior executive positions at several major healthcare organizations, building a career that spans decades in the managed care industry. A former collegiate and professional basketball player, Boudreaux's trajectory from athletic competition to the corner office of a Fortune 500 company has made her one of the most prominent women in American business. She has been consistently recognized among the most powerful and influential figures in healthcare, including placement at number 14 on Forbes' 2025 Power Women list and inclusion in Modern Healthcare's 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare for 2025.

Early Life

Gail Koziara Boudreaux was born and raised in a working-class family. She grew up in a household that valued education and athletic discipline. From a young age, Boudreaux demonstrated notable athletic ability, particularly in basketball, which would become a defining feature of her formative years and shape her approach to leadership and competition in her later business career.

Boudreaux attended Dartmouth College, where she was a standout athlete. She played on the women's basketball team and became one of the most accomplished players in the program's history. Her athletic career at Dartmouth included significant individual achievements and she was recognized as a leader on the court. Her experience in competitive athletics at the collegiate level instilled in her a discipline, resilience, and team-oriented mindset that she has frequently cited as formative influences on her approach to business management.

After her collegiate career, Boudreaux continued to pursue basketball at higher levels of competition. She played professionally and was involved in competitive basketball beyond the college level, an experience that further developed her leadership skills and competitive drive before she transitioned into the corporate world.

Education

Boudreaux earned her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, where she was both a student and a varsity basketball player. She later earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Columbia Business School, equipping her with the formal business training that would complement her leadership instincts and athletic discipline as she entered the healthcare industry.

Career

Early Career in Health Insurance

Boudreaux began her career in the health insurance industry and rose through the ranks of several major organizations. She held senior leadership positions at Aetna, where she served as Executive Vice President and led the company's largest business unit. Her tenure at Aetna was marked by her management of large-scale health plan operations and her focus on improving operational efficiency and customer experience in managed care. She also held leadership roles at BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois and Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), one of the largest customer-owned health insurers in the United States. At HCSC, she served as President and CEO, overseeing a multi-state health plan operation that served millions of members.

Her career trajectory through these major health insurance organizations established her as a seasoned executive with deep expertise in managed care, health plan operations, and the complexities of the American healthcare system. By the time she was recruited to lead Anthem, Boudreaux had accumulated decades of experience managing large, complex health insurance operations.

President and CEO of Elevance Health

Boudreaux was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Anthem, Inc. in November 2017, succeeding Joseph Swedish. She became one of the few women leading a Fortune 500 company and the first woman to lead Anthem. Her appointment was seen as a significant moment both for the company and for women in corporate leadership more broadly.

Under Boudreaux's leadership, the company underwent a major corporate rebranding in 2022, changing its name from Anthem, Inc. to Elevance Health. The name change was designed to reflect the company's strategic evolution beyond traditional health insurance into a broader health services company. The rebranding signaled Boudreaux's vision of positioning the company as a comprehensive health solutions organization, encompassing pharmacy benefits, behavioral health, clinical services, and data analytics alongside its core health insurance business.

Boudreaux has led Elevance Health through a period of significant growth and strategic transformation. The company has expanded its Carelon health services division, which provides pharmacy, behavioral health, palliative care, and other services. This diversification strategy has been central to Boudreaux's approach to managing the company, aiming to create multiple revenue streams and reduce dependence on traditional health plan premiums alone.

Navigating Cost Pressures and Industry Challenges

A defining challenge of Boudreaux's tenure has been managing rising healthcare costs, a systemic issue affecting the entire American healthcare system. The company has faced cost pressures particularly in its Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace plans and Medicaid business segments.

In July 2025, Boudreaux addressed these challenges directly during the company's second-quarter earnings call, stating that Elevance Health was taking "concrete steps" to address cost pressures affecting its business. The company lowered its 2025 financial guidance amid ongoing cost challenges in its ACA and Medicaid markets. The guidance reduction reflected broader industry trends, including higher-than-expected medical utilization rates and the financial impact of Medicaid redeterminations following the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency's continuous enrollment provisions.

Congressional Testimony on Healthcare Affordability

In January 2026, Boudreaux was among the CEOs of major commercial health insurers who testified before the United States Congress on the issue of healthcare affordability and rising premiums. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health and the House Ways and Means Committee held hearings on January 22, 2026, calling insurance company executives to address concerns about soaring healthcare costs for American consumers.

During the hearings, top health insurance executives, including Boudreaux, attributed rising healthcare costs to increasing hospital and prescription drug prices rather than insurer practices, pointing to what they characterized as systemic cost drivers within the broader healthcare supply chain. The testimony occurred amid a period of intense public and political scrutiny of health insurance companies, as premiums continued to rise and consumers expressed growing frustration with the cost of healthcare in the United States.

The hearings highlighted the ongoing tension between insurers, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and policymakers over accountability for healthcare costs. The American Hospital Association submitted statements for both hearings, presenting a different perspective on cost drivers in the healthcare system. Observers noted that the hearings underscored the need for what some described as "systemic" change in the healthcare industry, with multiple stakeholders calling for structural reforms to the way healthcare is priced and delivered in the United States.

Strategic Direction

Under Boudreaux, Elevance Health has pursued a strategy of diversifying beyond traditional health insurance. The company has invested in its Carelon health services subsidiary, which operates across pharmacy benefits, behavioral health, post-acute care, and other clinical services. This diversification strategy reflects a broader trend among major health insurers to vertically integrate and offer a wider range of health-related services.

Boudreaux has also overseen Elevance Health's continued focus on its government-sponsored health plans, including Medicaid managed care and Medicare Advantage. These business lines represent a significant and growing portion of the company's membership and revenue. The management of these government programs has presented both opportunities for growth and challenges related to regulatory requirements, reimbursement rates, and the health needs of vulnerable populations.

The company's digital health initiatives and data analytics capabilities have also been areas of investment under Boudreaux's leadership, as Elevance Health has sought to use technology to improve health outcomes, streamline administrative processes, and enhance the member experience.

Personal Life

Gail Koziara Boudreaux is married to Scott Boudreaux. She has maintained a relatively private personal life despite her high-profile corporate role. Boudreaux has spoken publicly about the influence of her athletic background on her leadership approach, noting that the discipline, teamwork, and competitive mindset developed through basketball have been central to her management philosophy.

She has been involved in various corporate boards and civic activities throughout her career. Boudreaux has served on the boards of several organizations, reflecting her engagement with issues in healthcare policy, business leadership, and community development.

Recognition

Boudreaux has received extensive recognition for her leadership in the healthcare industry and her standing as a prominent woman in American business. In 2025, she was ranked number 14 on the Forbes Power Women list, one of the most prominent annual rankings of influential women globally. This ranking placed her among heads of state, technology executives, and other business leaders, reflecting her influence as the leader of one of the largest health insurance companies in the United States.

Also in 2025, Modern Healthcare named Boudreaux to its annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare, a recognition of her impact on the healthcare industry and her role in shaping the strategic direction of one of its largest companies.

Boudreaux has been a recurring presence on Fortune's Most Powerful Women in Business list and has been recognized by numerous other publications and organizations for her leadership. Her consistent placement on these rankings over multiple years reflects her sustained influence in both the healthcare sector and the broader American business community.

As a former collegiate athlete, Boudreaux has also been recognized for her athletic achievements, including honors related to her basketball career at Dartmouth College.

Legacy

Gail Boudreaux's career represents a significant chapter in the history of women in corporate leadership in the United States. As one of the few women to lead a Fortune 500 healthcare company, her tenure at Elevance Health has occurred during a period of profound change in the American healthcare system, marked by debates over affordability, access, and the role of private insurers in delivering healthcare.

Her strategic decision to rebrand Anthem as Elevance Health and diversify the company's operations beyond traditional insurance reflects a broader industry shift in which major health insurers have sought to transform themselves into comprehensive health services companies. Whether this strategic transformation achieves its long-term objectives remains to be seen, but the direction Boudreaux has set for the company has influenced how the industry conceptualizes the future of managed care.

Boudreaux's testimony before Congress in January 2026, alongside other major insurance CEOs, placed her at the center of one of the most consequential policy debates in American healthcare: the question of who bears responsibility for rising costs and what structural changes are needed to make healthcare more affordable. The outcome of these debates, and the role that companies like Elevance Health play in shaping them, will be a significant part of her professional legacy.

Her career trajectory—from collegiate athlete to the leader of a major Fortune 500 company—has also made her a notable figure in discussions about women's leadership in corporate America and the pathways that women have taken to reach the highest levels of business management.