Dr. Amarnath (he/him) is the Chief Health Officer at the California Health Care Safety Net Institute (SNI). He 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 acute care surgery, population health, and health informatics. He is well regarded for his skills in quality improvement, health equity, and high reliability in healthcare with a demonstrated history of working in health policy and innovation within hospital and healthcare systems as well as various government entities.
In his current role, he informs ongoing policy and program development by contributing delivery system, clinical, and performance measurement expertise to support health systems as they work to redesign ambulatory care, improve clinical quality, and enhance data exchange. He formerly served as Senior Medical Director for Covered California, the health benefits exchange for the State of California where he led the health informatics and clinical team that advised the organization on medical policy and standards issues for health plan contracting as well as utilized health plan data to provide actionable information supporting operations to improve care, lower costs, and enhance consumer health. He has served on various technical expert panels for the National Committee for Quality Assurance, 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. He is a graduate of University of Michigan (BS, Biopsychology & Cognitive Science), University of Louisville (MD), and Arizona State University (MS, Science of Health Care Delivery).