Baligh Yehia
Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health – Community Care
Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
Dr. Yehia is the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health - Community Care. He leads VA’s network of federal, academic, and community providers who care for 1.5 million Veterans at community-based (non-VA) facilities. He provides leadership in the areas of member eligibility and services, network development, provider relations, quality and utilization management, care integration, medical claims processing, and revenue collections. In addition, Dr. Yehia oversees VA’s family and dependent programs, which care for over 350,000 beneficiaries. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Yehia served as Senior Advisor on Health to the Secretary, where he provided leadership on strategies related to the health and wellbeing of Veterans and improving performance at VA’s 1,500+ healthcare facilities.
A leading expert in HIV medicine, Dr. Yehia has published over 150 articles, abstracts, chapters, and white papers. He has made important contributions to the understanding of patient engagement in healthcare, and individual and environmental factors influencing access to and participation in care.
Dr. Yehia is dedicated to improving the quality of healthcare delivery, and has served in top leadership positions on numerous boards and councils. He is a former member of the American College of Physicians Board of Regents, the American Medical Association Council on Medical Education, and the Maryland State Medical Society Board of Trustees. In addition, he is a past Chair of the American Medical Association Resident and Fellow Section, the nation’s largest association of resident and fellow physicians.
Nationally recognized as an emerging leader in healthcare, Dr. Yehia received the Walter J. McDonald Award for Early Career Physicians from the American College of Physicians, American Medical Association Foundation Leadership Award, American Society of Microbiology Young Investigator Award, and Robert Austrian Award in Infectious Diseases, and the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award from his alma mater.
Dr. Yehia is board certified in internal medicine/infectious diseases. He is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.