Movers & Shakers: Ann Tobin, Prime Therapeutics

Ann Tobin, Prime Therapeutics

Title: Chief compliance officer

Age: 59

Experienced compliance executive Ann Tobin has joined Prime Therapeutics, a leading pharmacy benefit manager based in Eagan, as chief compliance officer.

In overseeing the company's compliance function, Tobin works with leadership and employees to help assure its products and services comply with state and federal regulations.

"I've really loved being in health care because it's all about improving people's health and their lives, and that's just so important," Tobin said. "I've really worked to develop my career with a health care specialty."

Tobin has more than 20 years of regulatory compliance leadership in the health care industry, focusing on health plans and pharmacy benefit management. She previously has held legal leadership roles at UnitedHealth Group, Diversified Pharmaceutical Services and Medtronic. She earned a law degree from Northwestern University School of Law and holds undergraduate degrees from Duke University and Oberlin College.

Prime Therapeutics, recently recognized as one of the fastest-growing private companies nationally, serves nearly 20 million people and is collectively owned by 13 Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, subsidiaries or affiliates of those plans. Its services include claims processing, benefit plan design, network management, clinical program consultation, rebate management, formulary administration, mail service pharmacy and specialty pharmacy.

Her new role is focused fully on compliance, rather than combining legal and compliance responsibilities, which Tobin said was one aspect that appealed to her. "That takes me back to my early roots when I was at a law firm and did a lot of nonprofit health care-related work," Tobin said.

Q What's the role of compliance at Prime Therapeutics and what is your goal as chief compliance officer?

A Compliance is a matter of ethics, doing the right thing, and discipline in terms of complying with laws and regulations. It's a big task because health care is quite heavily regulated and ever changing, so I'm here to help Prime keep doing the good job it's doing and even improving on that to be really world class.

Q How will health care reform affect your work in compliance?

A It's my job and my staff's job to stay on top of the changes. There are new regulations that come with health care reform that will get implemented at Prime. I can tell already that they've been working on those and we'll continue to have to stay on top of those new regulations and requirements that are coming out of health care reform.

Q What appealed to you about this opportunity?

A I like being at a company that is rapidly growing, that has high employee satisfaction and is helping people get the medicine they need and feel better.