John C. Lewin, M.D.

This information is for archival purposes only.

Chief Executive Officer, California Medical Association

Dr. Lewin served as Hawaii's Director of Health for seven and a half years, from December 1986 to July 1994. In that position, he headed a public health and environmental agency with 6,5000 employees, a $500 million annual budget, and 80 major statewide programs. He was Hawaii's chief physician, chief environmental officer, and CEO of the state's largest hospital system. He resigned last summer to run in a closely contested race for governor of Hawaii. After running for governor, he established a small consulting firm to help physicians succeed and regain legitimate authority in the rapidly changing health care environment.

An ardent supporter of Hawaii's nationally recognized health care system, which is based on mandated employer coverage, Dr. Lewin gained high visibility during the Clinton Administration's efforts to revamp the health care delivery system with a plan based on the employer-mandate model. He was a member of the White House Health Professions Review Group, which reviewed and critiqued President Clinton's health care reform proposal.

Dr. Lewin has served on numerous state and national boards and commissions, including the Physicians' Leadership Committee for National Health Care Reform and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers' Health Care Reform Task Force. He also chaired the Hawaii Medical Association's Legislative Committee and Health Care Access and Economics Committee. He received national recognition from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers when he was honored with the Arthur T. McCormack Award for excellence in public health, and from the American Hospital Association with the Justin Ford Kimball Award for the ability to build consensus on health care issues. Las year, the AMA presented Dr. Lewin with the Nathan Davis Award as public physician of the year for his contributions to prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B.

Dr. Lewin spent more than six years (from July 1972-January 1979) working with the Navajo Tribe's health care services. As a commissioned medical officer in the U.S. Public Health Service, he supervised the multi-million-dollar health service on the Navajo Reservation. He subsequently worked for the Navajo Tribe as Executive Director of the Navajo Division of Health Improvement Services, which had 1,000 employees and provided health care to 200,000 Navajo people.

Dr. Lewin is a family physician in private practice who has continued to see patients throughout his public service career. He also is a Clinical Professor of International Health at the University of Hawaii's School of Public Health. Born in Camden, NJ, but raised in California, Dr. Lewin received his M.D. degree from the University of Southern California, and he completed his internal medicine internship and residency at Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center.