Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Anthony Wright

52. Anthony Wright

Healthcare activist Anthony Wright had a good year, and in an era of crises big and small, that’s saying something. First and foremost, Wright’s decade-long push to expand Medi-Cal to cover – in addition to others already included – people aged 26 to 49, regardless of immigration status, was fulfilled. Wright heads Health Access California, which seeks to expand access to good quality health care, and he has spent most of his professional life advocating on the issue. Wright co-chaired #Health4All with the California Immigrant Policy Center and helped lead the effort to set up an Office of Health Care Affordability. He also successfully advocated for affordability assistance in Covered California and Medi-Cal. He was active in the discussions that led to the creation of Covered California, the state’s version of the Affordable Care Act, and his fingerprints are usually all over any progressive healthcare-related legislation that emerges from the Capitol. He’s been with Health Access since 2002. Wright is from the Bronx and graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College.

Updated Aug. 9, 2o22