100 Most Influential People in Healthcare - 2022

Since July, Elnahal has been responsible for managing the Department of Veterans Affairs’ $102 billion health system budget, delivering care to more than 9 million veterans. Before his appointment, he led University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, for three years, garnering praise for the hospital’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As New Jersey health commissioner for nearly two years before joining University Hospital, he worked to reduce infant and maternal deaths and to narrow health disparities. He also provided funding to facilitate data sharing and improved public health reporting with a goal of curbing the opioid epidemic.