Jonathan Freedman
Senior Regional Vice President
Health Management Associates
Los Angeles, CA
[javascript protected email address]
(213) 314-9093
Jonathan Freedman works with plans, providers, associations, and governmental and non-governmental entities in the areas of public health, safety net healthcare, and public policy. His work focuses on strategic planning, public health improvement and transformation, and the healthcare safety net
Before joining HMA, Jonathan was chief of strategy at L.A. Care Health Plan, the largest publicly operated health plan in the nation with more than 2 million members. In this capacity, he was responsible for strategic planning, government relations, communications, compliance, and community benefits. He led L.A. Care’s entry into the commercial market with the launch of L.A. Care Covered on the California health insurance marketplace, Covered California. He was also intimately involved with L.A. Care’s substantial growth related to the Medicaid expansion and a dual demonstration known as CalMediConnect.
Prior to joining L.A. Care Health Plan, Jonathan held a variety of management and leadership roles for more than 25 years with the County of Los Angeles, including chief deputy director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH), a $1 billion agency with 4,000 staff. His other roles included managing the county’s state and federal legislative programs, directing the Medicaid Demonstration Project (1115 Waiver) for the county; and serving as an assistant deputy for health, welfare and environmental issues to Supervisor Ed Edelman, a former member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
Jonathan has led many high-profile initiatives, including the public health response to the 1994 Northridge earthquake; Los Angeles County’s Master Tobacco Settlement negotiation; solutions to funding crises in the Los Angeles County safety net; and the 2010 H1N1 influenza response.
He has also led many special projects on behalf of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and Chief Executive Officer including negotiation of the county’s interests in California Medicaid Waivers; revenue and tax options for local government; workers’ compensation and pension reform legislation; development of a successful partnership between the Los Angeles and the University of California to re-open the MLK Hospital in South Los Angeles; and negotiation of state-county fiscal and program realignment.
Jonathan has received outstanding leadership awards from the California State Association of Counties and Los Angeles County. He is a lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Fielding School of Public Health, and a contributor to three books on public health practice – Public Health Leadership (Routledge Press, 2017), Public Health Practice: What Works (Oxford Press, 2012), and Global Biosecurity: Threats and Responses (Routledge Press, 2010).
Jonathan was raised in Los Angeles and holds degrees in political science and public health from the UCLA.
When not chasing health policy, Jonathan is an avid fan of California history and culture.