Gov. Maura Healey has appointed Dr. Kiame Mahaniah as the state Secretary of Health and Human Services. Mahaniah has been an undersecretary of health for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) since April 2023 and is a physician practicing in primary care and addiction. EOHHS is the largest secretariat in the state and helps improve health outcomes, build resilience, maximize independence and contribute to the better quality of life for people in Massachusetts.
During his time as undersecretary of health, Mahaniah has co-chaired the administration’s Advancing Health Equity in Massachusetts (AHEM) initiative and the Primary Care Access, Delivery and Payment Task Force. He also leads the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund (ORRF) Advisory Council in the interest of Kate Walsh, the retiring secretary.
“Dr Mahaniah has an outstanding record as a physician, a community leader and a valued member of the EOHHS leadership team,” said Healey. “As the Trump administration undermines health care and food access for hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents, Dr. Mahaniah will be committed to making high-quality health care more affordable and accessible for all of our residents, bringing an urgently needed focus on primary care and behavioral health care, and maintaining our nation-leading health and human services system in Massachusetts.”
Mahaniah will lead a team of over 23,000 people across 11 agencies and the MassHealth program, which works to provide services that support about 1 in 3 residents in the state. He will also supervise public health efforts that impact all communities in Massachusetts.
“I’m grateful to Governor Healey and Lieutenant Governor (Kim) Driscoll for the opportunity to continue serving the people of Massachusetts as secretary, and to Secretary Walsh for her leadership over the past few years,” said Mahaniah. “This is certainly a challenging moment for health care and human services work, but our state has a head start — thanks to our world-leading resources, talent, providers and partners — to come together, solve problems, and work to make the right services and supports available to people who need them.”
Mahaniah was previously the CEO of Lynn Community Health Center where he led the progression in value-based care. He is an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and has an MBA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and a bachelor of arts from Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania.
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