Ashrith “Ash” Amarnath, MD, MS-SHCD
Medical Director, Covered California
Dr. Ashrith “Ash” Amarnath is a physician leader with a focus on healthcare delivery reform, quality, and health equity. He is trained in General Surgery with a background in Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. He is currently serving as Medical Director for Covered California, where he leads the health informatics and clinical team that advises the organization on medical policy and standards issues for health plan contracting and utilizes health plan data to provide actionable information supporting operations to improve care, lower costs, and enhance consumer health.
Dr. Amarnath is a physician leader with a focus on healthcare delivery reform, quality, and health equity. He is trained in General Surgery with a background in Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. He is well regarded for his skills in performance improvement, change management, and high reliability in healthcare with a demonstrated history of working in health policy, innovation, as well as within hospital and healthcare systems. He is currently serving as Medical Director for Covered California, the health benefits exchange for the State of California. In this role he leads the health informatics and clinical team that advises the organization on medical policy and standards issues for health plan contracting as well as utilizes health plan data to provide actionable information supporting operations to improve care, lower costs, and enhance consumer health. In addition, he oversees the medical, behavioral health, and clinical programs on quality and effective care delivery for insurance services. He sits on various technical expert panels for the National Quality Forum, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the California Health and Human Services Agency. He held prior roles as the Patient Safety Officer for Sutter Valley Medical Foundation and Medical Consultant for the California Department of Health Care Services.