Ousted Molina CEO to stay on company's board of directors

Though J. Mario Molina is no longer the CEO of Molina Healthcare, he won’t be cutting ties entirely with the company his father founded.

In a filing this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Molina Healthcare revealed that its shareholders voted May 10 to keep its ousted CEO on its board of directors. They also re-elected two other board members, Dale B. Wolf and Ronna E. Romney.

J. Mario Molina and his brother John Molina, who was the company’s CFO, were fired by Molina Healthcare’s board of directors on May 2. The main reason given was the company’s “disappointing financial performance.”

The insurer did have a disappointing fourth quarter in 2016 after experiencing losses on its Affordable Care Act exchange business. At the time, J. Mario Molina blamed those losses on flaws in the ACA’s risk adjustment program.

The company rebounded in the first quarter, however, reporting financial results that were “consistent with our expectations” on the same day that it announced the firing of the Molina brothers. Thus, some analysts mused that the leadership change could be a sign that the insurer, which specializes in Medicaid managed care, could be readying itself for a sale.

The company’s erstwhile CEO, though, had his own opinions on what motivated the move, suggesting that his outspoken criticism of the Trump administration may have played a role. J. Mario Molina has previously said that his peers in the healthcare industry are “afraid” to voice their concerns about the GOP’s plans for healthcare reform.

While the insurer searches for a new CEO, Joseph W. White—formerly the company’s chief accounting officer—will fill the role, as well as serve as the company’s new CFO. John Molina, the company has said, will continue to serve on the company's board of directors.