Dr. John A. Johnson, the current Chief Medical Officer for GEHA Health and the former owner of an Internal Medicine practice in Douglasville, Georgia, was installed as President of the Medical Association of Atlanta (MAA) for 2023 – 2024 at the MAA Summer Gala on July 22, 2023.

Established in 1854, the MAA has approximately 2,000 members and is the largest county medical society in Georgia. Dr. Johnson will succeed Dr. Fonda Mitchell, a practicing Obstetrician / Gynecologist with The Southeast Permanente Medical Group (TSPMG).

Dr. Johnson is a distinguished healthcare leader equipped with more than 25 years of experience leading strategic planning and implementation, driving effective integrated care and utilization of clinical services to optimize health outcomes while managing costs. Dr. Johnson has been an active MAA member, advocate, and leader. He has represented MAA at the Medical Association of Georgia (MAG) House of Delegates since 2015, he has served on the MAA Board of Directors since 2016, the Executive Board since 2020, and Dr. Johnson has also represented MAA on the MAG Board of Directors and the GAMPAC Board since 2021. He is also a graduate of the Georgia Physicians Leadership Academy.

Originally from New Jersey, Dr. Johnson graduated from Rutgers University New Jersey Medical School, and he completed his Internal Medicine residency at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Johnson is Board certified in Internal Medicine, and he is also a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. He earned his MBA from Emory University School of Business with a focus in Healthcare Management. 

Dr. Johnson owned and operated an Internal Medicine practice in Douglasville for over 20 years where he focused on treating patients with acute and chronic conditions. One of his clinical areas of interest has been treating patients with diabetes. He successfully grew his private practice to more than 10,000 patients before transitioning his career into leadership roles in health care. Dr. Johnson has spent the past ten years working in managed care with well-known health plans. He currently serves as the Chief Medical Officer for GEHA Health and he is responsible for driving the national strategy and operations of the health plan’s clinical organization focusing on health outcomes, quality improvement and appropriate interventions. He oversees large-scale clinical transformation and complex care management nationwide for over two million federal employees, retired military members and their families with comprehensive medical and dental benefits. Previously, John served as Chief Medical Officer for Virginia Premier Health Plan in Richmond, Virginia, Molina Healthcare of Ohio and Cardinal Health Innovations Healthcare in Charlotte, North Carolina where he oversaw medical and behavioral health strategy, clinical policy, pharmacy, and quality improvement initiatives. Dr. Johnson was also the Senior Medical Director for WellCare of Georgia where he oversaw the clinical direction of medical services, quality improvement and performance outcomes for Managed Medicaid members and Medicare Advantage members. Under his leadership, WellCare successfully won its bid for the State of Georgia’s new Managed Medicaid contract. Prior to WellCare, Dr. Johnson was with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia serving as Medical Director supporting utilization review and care management for over 600,000 state employees under the State Health Benefit Plan.

Dr. Johnson is a decorated veteran, and he currently serves as a Colonel in the United States Army Reserves Medical Corps with 26 years of service. Dr. Johnson is also President-elect of the Emory University Medical Alumni Board, and he is Vice-President on the Leadership Empowerment Project Board which is an organization that focuses on mentoring and developing college-age young men to ensure that they matriculate through college and successfully graduate. 

John and his wife, Donna, have been married for 21 years and they live in the East Cobb Marietta area.

Dr. Johnson will be joined on next year’s Executive Committee by Dr. Cody McClatchey (Piedmont Internal Medicine, P.C.), named President-Elect, Dr. Carmen Kavali (Kavali Plastic Surgery and Skin Renewal Center), named Treasurer, and Dr. Shamie Das (Emory) named Secretary. Dr. Mitchell will continue to serve on the Executive Committee in a Board Chair capacity.

In addition to these positions, the MAA has added two new board members for 2023 – 2024. Dr. Daniel Lopez (TSPMG) and Dr. David Waldburg (Emory) have agreed to serve on the board.