Ghaly, who's also the director of health and social impact for Los Angeles County, "will help lead the administration’s efforts to advance the Governor’s health care agenda, including proposals to lower prescription drug costs, provide coverage to young undocumented adults through Medi-Cal, and help put California on a path toward single-payer health care," said the announcement from Newsom's office.
Ghaly, 44, of South Pasadena, has served as director of health and social impact for Los Angeles County since 2018; was deputy director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services overseeing community health and integrated programs from 2011 to 2018; and medical director for a San Francisco Department of Public Health clinic from 2006 to 2011. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Harvard Medical School and a Master of Public Health degree in health policy from the Harvard School of Public Health. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $209,943. Ghaly is a Democrat.
"As both a physician and an expert in public health, Ghaly brings a deep knowledge and understanding of how individual and community health outcomes intersect with policy and law on issues like whole-person care, mental health and stage-of-life care," Newsom's announcement said. "He will help lead the administration’s efforts to advance the Governor’s health care agenda, including proposals to lower prescription drug costs, provide coverage to young undocumented adults through Medi-Cal, and help put California on a path toward single-payer health care."
Newsom on Tuesday also reappointed CHHS Undersecretary Michelle Baass, 44, who had served in that role since last year. Baass, a Democrat, was deputy secretary of the Office of Program and Fiscal Affairs from 2017 to 2018; and was principal consultant and then deputy director for the California State Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review. Previously, she had been with the California State Senate Office of Research and the California Legislative Analyst’s Office. She was with Accenture from 1996 to 2004. The undersecretary's salary is $183,084.
Ghaly succeeds HHS Secretary Michael Wilkening, a veteran of state service who had been agency undersecretary for almost 10 years before being appointed secretary last year. Wilkening, a Republican, was with the California Department of Finance from 1995 to 2008, including program budget manager for the CHHS unit. In addition, he was executive sponsor of HHS' Open Data Initiative and Agency Technology Governance Council and has written on those topics, among others.
CHHS, which has an annual budget of more than $140 billion, encompasses 12 departments and four offices that provide a range of health care services, social services, mental health services, alcohol and drug services, income assistance, and public health services. More than 33,000 people work in or under HHS statewide.
