Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Carmela Coyle

33. Carmela Coyle

Carmela Coyle, the president and CEO of the California Hospital Association since 2017, is planning to retire early next year, making now a good time to induct her into the Top 100 Hall of Fame. Coyle has steered the association’s roughly 400 hospitals through an unprecedented decade of challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and massive cuts to federal Medicaid spending, not to mention the state’s perpetual lack of healthcare workers and the never-ending financial distress of its rural hospitals. Coyle played a major role in the 2024 victory of Prop. 35, which made permanent a tax on managed healthcare insurance plans to fund Medi-Cal services. She came to California after leading the Maryland Hospital Association for nine years. There, she played a key role in recasting the hospital payment system, making it value based. Before that, she spent two decades in senior policy positions with the American Hospital Association, including 11 years as its Senior Vice President of Policy. She rose to a member of the AHA’s executive management team, which lead policy development for the nation’s hospitals. And before all of that, she spent six years at the Congressional Budget Office, where she advised members of Congress and their aides about the fiscal implications of legislation. In April, Coyle received the 2026 AHA Board of Trustees Award for her contributions to the AHA and the healthcare field in general. We think that’s fitting after roughly 40 years of championing hospitals here and across the nation. Enjoy retirement, Carmela.

Updated Aug. 7, 2025