Mayor Lurie Names Daniel Tsai Director of Department of Public Health

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie today appointed nationally recognized healthcare leader Daniel Tsai as the new director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH). Tsai brings nearly two decades of healthcare experience to the role, having previously been appointed to lead the Medicaid program in Massachusetts and federally at the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), where he helped significantly expand healthcare access among communities most in need. He was nominated unanimously by the San Francisco Health Commission on Monday.

In 2021, Tsai was appointed to lead the nation’s Medicaid program at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, advancing greater healthcare coverage for 80 million people across the country. During his tenure, more people were enrolled in health coverage than at any point in history. Under his leadership, the agency strengthened care for mental health and substance use, while pioneering interventions for individuals who are homeless with medical and behavioral health conditions.

Before joining CMS, Tsai served as Massachusetts’ Medicaid Director. He was the state's longest-serving Medicaid director in nearly two decades, serving for over six years and building a more robust and sustainable Medicaid program that served nearly 2 million people. He was previously a partner in McKinsey's health care and public sector practices, where he worked across almost every aspect of healthcare—including state Medicaid programs, healthcare providers, and health plans—to design and implement innovative models of healthcare coverage, delivery, and payment.

“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,” said Mayor Lurie. “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.”

“I am excited and honored to be joining the Lurie administration and team at the Department of Public Health. San Francisco’s healthcare system is storied and has some of the best facilities and people in the nation. 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,” said incoming DPH Director Tsai. “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 this critical moment for our city, San Francisco needs a DPH director with the skills and experience to continue our role as a national leader in public health. The Health Commission is confident that Dan Tsai is that person,” said Laurie Green, MD, Health Commission President. “Dan is eminently qualified to navigate an uncertain environment while maintaining the quality DPH programs San Franciscans rely upon. We look forward to working with him to deliver on that promise.”

“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,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, former California Health and Human Services Secretary and former Medical Director, Southeast Health Center for the San Francisco Department of Public Health. “He 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.”

“Dan has been at our nation’s forefront in ensuring our healthcare system covers and works for low-income families, individuals, and people who would otherwise fall through the cracks,” said Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, former administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “He has led and architected major health system improvements across our country, all while keeping the experience and outcomes of individual people front and center. I know he will bring that same approach to serving the people of San Francisco.”

“I am thrilled that Mayor Lurie has appointed Dan to lead San Francisco’s public health system,” said Erica Murray, president and CEO of the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems. “California hospitals and stakeholders worked closely with Dan when he led the federal Medicaid program. He has a unique ability to listen and thoughtfully partner with stakeholders, and he brought tremendous creativity and solutions to help California’s safety net hospitals and others across the country stay afloat. We are looking forward to having him serve here in California.”