Bruce Chernof, MD, FACP
Affiliated Partner
Los Angeles, CA
An expert in public policy and health systems practice related to adults with complex needs and other vulnerable populations, Bruce Allen Chernof, MD, FACP, has three decades of experience as a healthcare executive, educator, and physician.
Dr. Chernof joins HMA while also continuing to serve as a non-resident senior fellow at the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at the University of California.
From 2008-2021, Dr. Chernof served as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of The SCAN Foundation, whose mission is to advance a coordinated and easily navigated system of high-quality services for older adults that preserves dignity and independence. In this role, he served as chairman of the federal Commission on Long-Term Care, which produced a bipartisan report to Congress recommending reforms for our nation’s long-term care financing, delivery system, and workforce needs.
Under his leadership, The SCAN Foundation also played a pivotal role in the creation of new community-based benefits in the Medicare program, and in California, led the movement that created the state’s first Master Plan for Aging.
Prior to leading The SCAN Foundation, Dr. Chernof served as director and chief medical officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services; he also served as the department’s senior medical director for clinical affairs and affiliations.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Chernof served as regional medical director for California Health Programs at Health Net, at the time, California’s largest network-model managed care plan, where he managed the Healthy Families program statewide and the managed care Medicaid program in Los Angeles County.
He also worked as an academic general internist in the Veteran’s Affairs system as well as at Olive View University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center, serving as a UCLA faculty member.
After 28 years of service culminating as an adjunct professor of medicine at David Geffen School of Medicine, Dr. Chernof retired from UCLA in 2018.
Dr. Chernof served as the founding director of UCLA’s five-year combined Medical Doctor/Master of Business Administration program. In 2002, the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA recognized Dr. Chernof with the Award for Excellence in Education for these innovative programs. He has had work published in a variety of journals as well as co-edited the Geriatric Care Handbook.
Dr. Chernof completed his residency and served as chief resident in internal medicine for the UCLA-San Fernando Valley Program. After residency, Dr. Chernof completed a fellowship in medical education at the UCLA School of Medicine. He earned his medical degree from UCLA and completed his undergraduate work at Harvard University.