The pending merger between Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and Cambia Health Solutions Inc. was put on hold following reports about a traffic accident involving the former's president and CEO, Patrick Conway, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Conway is facing charges of driving while impaired, failure to maintain lane control, civil revocation of driver's license, two counts of misdemeanor child abuse and reckless driving with wanton disregard following the alleged alcohol-related traffic accident.
Cambia Chairman Mike Koppel and CEO Mark Ganz said the company had decided to put the merger deal on temporary hold "until all the facts are known and the legal process concludes," according to the report.
A Cambia spokeswoman said Conway reached out to Ganz following the incident with "minimal detail" a few days following the accident, but the "deeply troubling" details which had been recently reported were not known to the company, according to the report.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina announced plans to merge their management under the Cambia name in March. Conway was set to lead the combined structure as CEO, with Ganz as executive chair.
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina board of trustees decided that Conway will continue as president and CEO after the accident, prompting North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey to urge the company to name an interim CEO.
