Seeking refuge from the current Trump era in Washington, a former Biden administration health official has just landed a job in SF's Lurie administration.
Mayor Daniel Lurie announced the appointment today of Daniel Tsai to be the city's new director of the Department of Public Health. Tsai led the national Medicaid program at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from 2021 to 2024. He previously led the Medicaid program in Massachusetts for six years, becoming the state's longest-serving Medicaid director in nearly two decades.
Tsai comes into the job after the departure of our pandemic-era Public Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax, who announced his departure just as Lurie took office last month. Colfax had also come to the job after a stint in Washington, having worked in an advisory role during the Obama administration.
The current, primary focus of the Department of Public Health is not COVID, of course, but the ongoing fentanyl crisis, which Lurie points to in a statement.
"It’s going to take creativity, compassion, and collaboration to tackle the city’s drug crisis, and that’s exactly what Dan Tsai brings to the table," Lurie says. "Dan’s experience is broad, but his commitment to patients and communities is clear throughout. I am excited that he is bringing that expertise and dedication to San Francisco."
Tsai says he's "excited and honored" to be joining the department and relocating to San Francisco.
"San Francisco’s healthcare system is storied and has some of the best facilities and people in the nation," Tsai says in a statement. "I am committed to collaborating with the community to ensure every individual and family we serve can access and receive world-class healthcare and outcomes."
He adds, "This is all the more urgent given the opioid and homelessness crisis, and I look forward to partnering with stakeholders and individuals with lived experience to find new, data-driven approaches to tackling this important challenge compassionately and effectively."
At a press event Tuesday, Lurie sang Tsai's praises as well, per Mission Local. In remarks at the event, Lurie spoke about his last meeting with Tsai, saying he suggested they go for a walk.
"We got up and we walked through the Tenderloin, and seeing him and his compassion right there, I knew that he was the right person to lead this department," Lurie said, per Mission Local.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, the former Health and Human Services Secretary for California, and formerly the medical director of SF's Southeast Health Center, also had words of endorsement for Tsai, saying, "Dan was an instrumental partner in pushing forward critical wins for California’s Medi-Cal program, including negotiating groundbreaking federal Medicaid waivers to allow California to lead the nation in improving behavioral health, addressing complex issues around homelessness and clinical care, and ensuring sufficient funding for the safety net.
Ghaly added that Tsai "cares deeply about supporting the people served by the program and about his teams, and I am excited to see where San Francisco’s public health system can go with his person-focused, boots-on-the-ground, whatever-it-takes leadership guiding the way."
Tsai gave an exit interview to NPR as he left the Medicaid post last month, saying the Republican proposals to slash Medicaid funding "will be very damaging to the health of the American people."
Previously: Mayor Lurie Is Determined to Fire Police Commission VP Max Carter-Oberstone
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