Kaiser Permanente’s president and chief operating officer, Bernard Tyson, will replace retiring chairman and CEO George Halvorson next year as head of the largest nonprofit health insurer in the U.S., the company said.

Tyson, 53, has worked at Kaiser for 28 years. He previously directed the nonprofit’s hospital systems and led development of Kaiser’s “Thrive” advertising campaign. He’ll take over for Halvorson, 65, who plans to step down in December 2013 after leading the company since 2002.

Kaiser Permanente, based in Oakland, California, covered 9 million people last year, mostly in the West, and had $47.9 billion in revenue, according to its website. It runs 37 hospitals in California, Oregon and Hawaii and employs 17,000 physicians. The company’s integrated system, in which one entity delivers care and pays the bills, was a model for the U.S. health-care overhaul, which encourages doctors, hospitals and insurers to better coordinate services.

“As we continue down the path of health-care reform and the transformation of the health-care industry, I am excited about leading an organization so committed to high-quality and affordable care for everyone,” Tyson said in a statement.

Tyson will join the company’s board of directors next month and assume Halvorson’s position at the end of 2013 after a six- month transition period, the company said.